FRISCO, Texas – While the chances of Jaylon Smith playing at all in 2016 remain slim to none, the Dallas Cowboys eliminated the possibility of their second-round pick playing in the first six weeks of the season on Tuesday.
Smith was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list as one of the team’s moves to reach the 75-man limit.
By moving to reserve/NFI, Smith will not be eligible to practice until Oct. 17. They will then have until Nov. 7 for him to begin practice, which would then start another three-week window. By Nov. 28, the Cowboys would have to decide to activate him to the 53-man roster or move him to injured reserve.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones has kept open the possibility of Smith playing in 2016 even though most reports had the former Notre Dame star needing a "redshirt" season.
Smith tore the anterior and lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee and also suffered nerve damage in Notre Dame's Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. Structurally the knee is sound, cleared at the medical re-check in Indianapolis, but the nerve issue scared off teams from putting Smith on their draft boards.
Smith said he was seeing improvement in his knee as well as the nerve condition. He has started to do some football movements and light cutting. He wears a brace on his left calf and foot to help his nerve issue.
“Day by day, the feeling is getting so much better,” Smith said Tuesday. “I’m able to do a lot more. I’m actually running now and doing some actual football things, linebacker drills and things like that. [On Monday], me and [Darren McFadden] went out and did some striders. It’s just so much more than I’m being able to do and getting back comfortable to myself.”
While unable to practice, Smith is in the meetings and learning the defense in the classroom -- if not on the field.
The Cowboys’ hope is that he will be able to return to full strength in 2017 and play at a high level, giving them two of the top talents in this year’s draft, along with Ezekiel Elliott, their fourth overall pick.