Sources: Ex-Cowboys OT Smith signing with Jets

Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterMar 15, 2024, 09:02 PM ET
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Securing a top performer in their offensive line overhaul, the New York Jets agreed to terms Friday night with former Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Smith will sign a one-year contract that could be worth up to $20 million with incentives, according to a source. The base value wasn’t immediately available.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, coming back from Achilles surgery, will have a new-look line in front of him. In a span of five days, the Jets have added three starters: Smith, left guard John Simpson and right tackle Morgan Moses.

The Jets had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last season, allowing 64 sacks, which ranked 28th. Crushed by injuries and ineffectiveness, their offensive line started 13 different combinations. The revamped line means the Jets, picking 10th in the draft, won’t feel pressed into drafting a tackle.

The addition of Smith comes with risk. Though he’s one of the league’s most decorated linemen, he also has a durability question. He has missed 37 games in the past four seasons.

There’s also an age factor. In Smith and Moses, the Jets have a pair of 33-year-old bookends protecting their 40-year-old quarterback. When healthy, though, Smith is an elite pass protector.

Smith, one of the best left tackles in the NFL for nearly a decade, made 14 starts in 2023, the most he has made since 2019, after adopting a weekly practice plan that had him work mostly off to the side during the week.

He did miss three games last season, including two because of a knee injury and one when his back flared up, and hasn’t played a full season since 2015.

Smith, who turns 34 in December, was named a second-team All-Pro after a season in which he had an 89.1% pass block win rate and a 78.8% run block win rate.

He is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time All-Pro with the Cowboys. Smith, who played right tackle as a rookie in 2011, was the first offensive lineman picked in the first round by the Cowboys since 1981.

His departure moves tackle to the top of the Cowboys’ needs list in the upcoming draft. They selected Tyler Smith in the first round in 2022 with the idea of him becoming the left tackle of the future, but he has played so well at left guard, earning a Pro Bowl spot in 2023, that the team could keep him on the interior.

In recent years the Cowboys have drafted tackles Josh Ball, Matt Waletzko and Asim Richards, but none appears ready to take over as a starter.

ESPN’s Todd Archer contributed to this report.