Jerry Jones: Cowboys couldn’t afford to keep Tyron Smith, what it means for Tyler Smith

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t mince words when it came to the team’s decision to let beloved left tackle Tyron Smith, a likely future Hall of Famer, walk in free agency after having one of his best seasons in years.

Jones said the Cowboys simply couldn’t afford to pay Smith what he got from the New York Jets, a $6.5 million base salary that could reach up to $20 million with incentives.

“You know how highly he is thought of by us,” Jones said. “We can’t afford that. We can’t afford that.“If he makes all of these incentives and things like that, we would be really wrecked.”

Jones compared it the heart-wrenching the decision to the team made in 2014 when they released Hall of Fame defensive end DeMarcus Ware, the team’s all-time leader in sacks who went on to win a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos.

“You can imagine the relationship we’ve got with Tyron and how much both of us hated to do,” Jones said. “It was just like it was with DeMarcus Ware. We both hated it. But it just wasn’t there.”

While the Cowboys hated parting ways with the eight-time Pro Bowler, they also had to be practical. He had missed at least three games a season since 2015. And although he was great when he was on the field in 2023, he still missed four games.

They managed him through the season to keep on the field by not practicing him during the week. Jones said they did that to make sure that Tyron Smith was available for the long run in the playoffs.

With the Cowboys suffering an early exit to the Green Bay Packers, it left Jones wondering what was it all for and if the lack of practice played a role in his team’s lack of intensity in the postseason.

It’s was not Smith’s fault but he also wasn’t the answer for a Cowboys team that failed to get the Super Bowl for the 28th straight season since their last title in 1995.

It all has Jones rethinking his offensive line philosophy when it comes to the cap, especially following a year in which the team caved to hold out Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin’s salary demands for a raise in training camp that he says cost the team possibly two players.

“I still can’t tell you if it’s good to have a good, top, high pro bowler type offensive line or lesser there and more someplace else,” Jones said. “That one hasn’t gotten resolved in my mind yet.”

What Jones does know is that the team has a possible immediate answer for Tyron Smith at left tackle in the former of left guard Tyler Smith, who was actually drafted in the first round in 2022 to be the heir apparent on the blindside but that was before blossomed into an elite player on the inside.

“That’s a good, viable thing,” Jones said. “Keep it there. Don’t dismiss that idea.”

Jones said Tyler Smith can be a great at left tackle and guard, similar to Hall of Famer Larry Allen.

“I am glad we got him under these circumstances,” Jones said of Tyler Smith.