Reports: Eagles, Packers, Giants interested in LB Jaylon Smith

One of the surprise NFL Transactions of this week was the Dallas Cowboys releasing former Pro Bowl Linebacker Jaylon Smith.  Less than 24 hours after the initial reports of the move, there are reports coming out pointing to what teams could be interested in signing the former Notre Dame Football Defensive Star Player

The 26 year old Linebacker is currently playing his fifth season in the NFL only played 56% of Cowboys Defensive Snaps this season and compiled 13 Solo Tackles in four games this year.  Both the Eagles and Cowboys lack top end talent or elite playmakers at the Linebacker position, so Jaylon Smith makes a lot of sense for both defenses.  But there is a conflicting report about Smith future landing spot that came out around the same time as the one above:

The addition of Rookie Phenom Micah Parsons seems to be part of the reason why Smith fell out of favor in Dallas in a defense under first year Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn that looks to play fewer Linebackers than past years with the Cowboys.  When Jaylon Smith was drafted, Rod Marinelli was the Defensive Coordinator and the first three years for Smith in Dallas was a very different scheme than what Quinn now calling this season.  From 2018-2020, Smith averaged 84.7 Solo Tackles per season plus totaling Eight Sacks and Two Interceptions in 48 games started.

Before suffering a serious knee injury, Jaylon Smith was considered one of the top Linebackers in College Football while playing at Notre Dame where he was a Consensus All-American and won the 2015 Dick Butkus Award.  According to reports, his unwillingness to waive the Injury Guarantee in his contract was a sticking point for him to stay with the Cowboys