It's never easy letting a future Hall of Famer walk out the door, but that's exactly what the Dallas Cowboys did this past offseason, as they opted not to bring back offensive tackle Tyron Smith.
The two sides were apparently nowhere near close on the financial framework it would have taken to bring the eight-time Pro Bowler back to America's Team when NFL free agency began, and Jerry Jones chose to let Smith test the market.
Smith, of course, ultimately signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets, one that could be worth up to $20 million but only included $6.5 million in guaranteed money.
As every Cowboys fan knows, Jones doesn't always come out of these things looking great, as several of the players he's let walk or has traded away over the years have made him look foolish by lighting it up with their new teams.
In this case, however, Jones kind of looks like a genius, as Smith has been one of many disappointments during the Jets' 2-4 start.
Longtime Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith has been a nightmare for the Jets thus far
In his first six games with Gang Green, Smith has looked nothing like the player he was in Dallas for the past 13 years.
As the fine folks at The Jet Press pointed out, the 33-year-old has allowed five sacks on Aaron Rodgers, which ties him with Broderick Jones of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second-most of every offensive tackle in the NFL.
He's also tied for the seventh-most pressures allowed by an offensive tackle with 16. To be fair, Smith has played the fourth-most pass-block snaps at the position during the 2024 season. But still, that's not a good look for anyone, and many Jets fans are calling for him to be benched. Whether that happens obviously remains to be seen, but it's not as if New York has great options behind him.
Now, let's not get this twisted. The Cowboys have plenty of offensive line issues of their own, as they're essentially a middle-of-the-pack unit at this point.
To be fair, given the departures of Smith and Tyler Biadasz, they've had to rely on rookies Tyler Guyton at left tackle and Cooper Beebe at center. And there's obviously a big learning curve at the pro level, so some struggles had to be expected.
And those struggles have been there, particularly for Guyton, who's had far too many penalties called on him, which is why Tyler Smith was moved to left tackle this past week in the Cowboys' lopsided loss to the Detroit Lions. T.J. Bass subsequently took Smith's spot at left guard.
So, again, it's not as if Dallas doesn't have issues on the O-line. It's just that Jones isn't paying as much as he would have had to pay Tyron Smith for the disappointing play he apparently would've gotten anyway.
