Packers finalizing take care of former Cowboys LB Jaylon Smith

After information of the Packers’ interest in Jaylon Smith surfaced, it seems the linebacker is planning to move to Wisconsin. The Packers and Smith are finalizing a contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

The Giants and Eagles could have had Smith on their radars, in keeping with Clarence Hill of the Fort Price Star-Telegram, however the former Cowboys defender is anticipated to land in Inexperienced Bay (Twitter link). Smith and Matt LaFleur have been each at Notre Dame in 2014, when the previous was a sophomore and the latter the Preventing Irish’s quarterbacks coach. LaFleur stays excessive on the linebacker.

The Packers did win a little bit of a bidding battle for Smith, however with the Cowboys paying most of his 2021 wage, Rapoport notes this quantity to extra of a recruiting battle (Twitter link). After spending time within the northern Midwest in faculty, Smith will head again to Massive Ten nation. The Cowboys are on the hook for Smith’s $7.2M 2021 base wage. Regardless of dropping ex-Packer Blake Martinez for the season, the Giants aren’t believed to have expressed sturdy curiosity, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets.

Smith made the Professional Bowl in 2019, and his 154 tackles final season completed behind solely the Texans’ Zach Cunningham. Nonetheless in his age-26 season, Smith has graded as a top-15 linebacker this yr, per Professional Soccer Focus, and must be set to see in depth time on Inexperienced Bay’s protection. The Packers have seen mid-offseason addition De’Vondre Campbell ship to this point; the ex-Falcons and Cardinals starter is averaging 10 tackles per recreation. Inexperienced Bay can have one other 2016 draftee be part of him quickly. Campbell went within the 2016 fourth spherical; Smith — due solely to the extreme foot harm he suffered in that yr’s Fiesta Bowl — lasted till Spherical 2.

Dallas ended Smith’s five-plus-season tenure Tuesday night, doing so after having added three linebackers — first-rounder Micah Parsons, fourth-rounder Jabril Cox and UFA Keanu Neal — this offseason. Smith performed 56% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps to this point this season, which represents a major downgrade from his full-time work over the previous 4 years. Main a linebacking corps that housed injury-prone cogs Leighton Vander Esch and Sean Lee, Smith has not missed a recreation since his 2016 injury-redshirt yr of kinds.