Should Washington Sign Pro Bowl LB Cut by Rival Cowboys?

With injury to Jon Bostic, Washington might kick the tires on Jaylon Smith

The Dallas Cowboys sent shockwaves through the NFC Tuesday night by - according to league sources - releasing former Pro Bowl linebacker Jaylon Smith.

Let's be clear about this upfront. Smith being released means he doesn't have to clear waivers. Assuming a last-minute trade isn't worked out before 4 p.m. Wednesday, he becomes a free agent able to sign wherever he chooses.

READ MORE: Cowboys Cut Smith

There's some obvious interest from a Washington Football Team standpoint, because he's about to be a former member of the NFC East-foe Cowboys. But there's another angle to this. 

First and foremost, WFT needs immediate linebacking help in the wake of Jon Bostic's injury suffered in Atlanta last Sunday. Would Smith be a good fit in D.C.?

Also, despite the apparent fact Smith wasn't fitting in well with new Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn's scheme, he played 40 percent of his unit's snaps in their win over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday. He might have been deemed too expensive for the Cowboys, but he wasn't playing too poorly to be on the field. 

READ MORE: Ron Rivera Disappointed with WFT

The once highly touted linebacker out of Notre Dame was expected to be a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft until he suffered a devastating knee injury in a bowl game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Because of the injury, Smith slipped into the second round. Two picks into it actually, and he was selected with the second pick of the round by Dallas.

All he's done since then is play in every game of his career, starting all 16 games in each of the past three seasons. In 2019, Smith earned a spot in the Pro Bowl.

Two years later, he's about to become a free agent. If someone doesn't swoop in and grab him first. Again, it's not a waiver issue, it's a trade one. 

There's no reason to believe the Cowboys are going to want to trade him within the division, and if other teams get word Washington is interested it may inspire one of them to take on the remaining $7.2M of his 2021 contract, and his injury protected 2022 total of $6.8M.

Also, the Cowboys have reportedly already tried to trade Smith. Something that plays into the hands of the WFT, if it is interested.

READ MORE: WFT Brings On New Kicker

However, if Washington could get the Cowboys to agree to a trade offer, the team would inherit the contract. And they'd get another bite at solving some linebacker issues in the process. Just in time too, with the loss of Bostic this weekend.

If Dallas doesn't find a trade partner before the deadline, and the release becomes official, then Smith gets to sign wherever he wants. Better yet, he'll have $7.2M of Cowboys money already allotted to his bank account. Making his ability to be flexible with the details of his next contract, a significant factor.

He could go the contender route. The Kansas City Chiefs could certainly use linebacker help. 

Or he could go the revenge route. 

And if he's looking to do that, the Washington Football Team could provide a nice landing spot for a young man with talent, on a roster looking to get back to playoff-caliber football, and two opportunities remaining to show his former team how big of a mistake they're about to make.

Washington doesn't play the Cowboys until December, when the teams will meet twice in three weeks.