Should the Packers take a chance on Jaylon Smith?

In a fairly bizarre move, the Dallas Cowboys decided to cut Jaylon Smith. Should the Green Bay Packers make a move and add Smith to their roster?

We’re four games into the 2021 NFL season and, for some reason, the Dallas Cowboys made the head-scratching decision to release Jaylon Smith. The former second-round draft pick was released after just four games in his sixth season with the Cowboys.

Smith hasn’t always been a star for Dallas, but the timing could’ve been better. Because of when the Cowboys decided to release him, Dallas will still reportedly owe Smith $7.2 million.

That’s a lot of money.

But the Cowboys seem to think it’s worth releasing him. Will another team think it’s worth picking him up?

What about someone like the Green Bay Packers, whose defense could certainly stand to improve? The Packers are giving up 25 points per game, which ranks as the 19th-best total in the NFL after four weeks.

Green Bay Packers: Would Jaylon Smith be a good addition to Green Bay’s defense?

While Green Bay always seems to need some help on defense, Smith hasn’t seemed to be all that great this season. So far, in four games with the Cowboys, the 26-year-old linebacker has managed to scrape together a total of 18 combined tackles. To go with that, Smith has started just two games this year.

That’s far from being impressive for most teams.

Although he is a veteran linebacker, Smith is still relatively young and he could theoretically continue to grow if presented the opportunity.

If Green Bay can assess how Smith has played so far and believe that his presence can help them win, and also somehow possibly help keep Aaron Rodgers from leaving, then the Packers should jump at this opportunity. It’s unlikely that there will be many more experienced linebackers who have earned a spot in the 2019 Pro Bowl available for the Packers to pick up.