Cowboys Plan To Activate Rookie LB Jaylon Smith From NFI List, But He Still May Not Play This Year

Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones mentioned during an interview with 105.3 The Fan on Monday that they will activate rookie LB Jaylon Smith from the non-football injury list. However, Jones did say that Smith’s routine will not change.

Todd Archer adds that while this does keep open the possibility of Smith playing in 2016, it’s still considered unlikely he’ll play a snap, given that he’s still recovering from a serious knee injury that included nerve damage.

Smith, 20, was taken with the No. 34 overall pick by the Cowboys a few weeks ago. So much was made about the condition of Smith’s knee and how it could impact his NFL career, but the Cowboys still felt comfortable enough about his future to use their second-round pick on him.

Before he suffered the serious knee injury at end of last year, Smith was considered a to be a top-five selection, so if he’s able to return to form, the Cowboys could be looking at a blue-chip player in the middle of their defense for years to come.

According to OverTheCap.com, Smith signed a four-year contract worth $6,494,972 to go along with a signing bonus of $2,923,616.

During his college career at Notre Dame, Smith recorded 284 tackles, 23.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, three recoveries and 10 pass defenses for the Fighting Irish over the course of three years.

We’ll have more regarding Smith and the Cowboys as the news is available.