FRISCO – Tyron Smith is a beloved figure here inside The Star in Frisco and in our experience, across the entirety of Cowboys Nation. For more than a decade, he was the starting left tackle of the Dallas Cowboys, having built a resume as a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a world-class teammate.
So when the Cowboys made the difficult financial decision to not retain him in the spring of 2023, Tyron opting to chase a payday with the New York Jets? It was a sentimental goodbye from the Dallas fan base, as opposed to a bitter one.
But there was and is one other factor that sort of slipped under the radar. No, the Cowboys didn’t want anything to do with matching the dollar figure that New York ponied up for the 33-year-old blocker; His one-year deal, if you read the fine print, can be worth up to $20 million. And seriously, that might be four times what the Cowboys were willing to spend in this “Blow It Up/Remodel” season.
But there was something else: A concern – as solid as the many-time All-Pro was in 2023 – that the injuries were catching up with Smith and that his ability to dominate was waning.