Dallas Cowboys letting ‘Ring of Honor’ calibre player go is ‘mutually beneficial’, says NFL Insider

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Notably, the Dallas Cowboys have had to say goodbye to their current longest-serving player since 2011.

Tyron Smith is being released by the Cowboys after 13 seasons of undivided loyalty to the franchise.

Drafted as an offensive tackle in 2011, the two-time First-Team All-Pro has been one of the most consistent performers in the last decade.

In a market where high-end offensive linemen are a rarity, Smith has been an elusive asset for America’s Team.

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Tyron Smith set to leave

The 33-year-old was projected to be the most successful offensive tackle in his NFL Draft and was the Cowboys’ first pick.

The rookie out of USC has rewarded the Cowboys with the faith they placed in him.

Testament to his high-skill consistency, Smith was awarded with an induction into the NFL’s 2010s Team of the Decade.

An honor which only the best of the best are rewarded with.

Towards the tail end of his Cowboys career, the Los Angeles native suffered multiple injuries.

In what has turned out to be his final season in the Lone Star State, Smith started 13 games and in the preceding season just 4.

As age has crept up on the offensive lineman, the wear and tear on his body has started to show.

The Cowboys are making a smart decision to let the longest current serving player walk as they can look to build around a healthier/younger talent.

Cowboys faith in Tyler Smith

America’s Team has shown an indication of that idea.

Tyler Smith’s emergence in 2022 coincided with the time Tyron Smith suffered a hamstring injury. The former adopted the latter’s left tackle position. When Tyron Smith returned for the last four games, he slotted into the new right tackle role.

Tyron Smith will be hitting the free agency market for the first time in his stellar career.

NFL Insider, Ian Rapoport, believes this is a good opportunity for the ‘ring of honor’ caliber player: “Right now I do think he’s a ring of honor type guy.

“Tyron Smith is awesome and played really well this year. He’s had a couple of injury-plagued seasons but came back and played really well.

“I think he’s going to get paid at a market where nobody has those guys like it’s hard to find a really good offensive lineman.”

Time to go young

The NFL Insider believes the plan is to move on to a younger athlete: “They do have Tyler Smith…

“So if you’re the Cowboys, you want to go a little bit cheaper and want to get with a little bit of a youth movement.

“There’s nothing wrong with saying, we’re just gonna move on to the younger guy who we drafted I think Tyler Smith is a really good player.

“There’s a lot of other questions with the Cowboys, I think but to me, the Tyron Smith decision felt like it was mutually beneficial.”

Rapoport indicates both franchise and Smith have come to a mutual decision to go in their separate directions.

Several franchises will be interested in the offensive tackle – they are in demand.