Getty Cowboys linebackers Jaylon Smith (left) and Leighton Vander Esch (right).
The only thing worse than the Dallas Cowboys cutting Jaylon Smith loose, according to now-former longtime linebacker mate Leighton Vander Esch, was how that news was disseminated.
No different than every Cowboys fan, each Cowboys player learned of Smith’s release on Tuesday evening through social media, the medium on which Smith — like countless others — is often criticized. This touched a nerve (or three) in Vander Esch, who slammed the “classless” and “ridiculous” treatment of professional athletes.
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“What bugs me most about it is when people that are on the outside, fans or whatever it may be, they want to say, ‘Oh, someone deserves this’ or ‘someone deserves that,’” Vander Esch said Wednesday, October 6, via the Dallas Morning News. “They don’t realize that this is literally like our livelihoods. We literally could get up and traded the next morning or the next day. We could be in 50 different freakin’ states. So people need to realize that. People need to realize that what they’re saying is literally just like nonsense. And I think that’s a big problem in the world today, and they need to cut that out.
“We don’t go talking about someone else’s job, so why are they talking about our jobs? It’s super frustrating. It’s annoying. I think it’s classless. I’ve got a lot of strong words for it because I know a lot of guys around the league deal with it. We’ve got families who might be in one area. You’ve got dudes that have been playing for a team for eight years, and they get traded. They’ve got family. They’ve got kids that have been there for that long. Think about that before you say something like, ‘Oh, this guy deserves that,’ or ‘this guy deserves that.’
“We don’t go saying — we’re not in your business about how much you guys are getting paid or what your boss is saying or this and that about anybody else’s job. We aren’t doing that. This is our livelihood. This is our job. We could get traded tomorrow. We could get cut tomorrow. So people need to realize what they’re saying on social media because I think it’s ridiculous.”
Smith Officially Inks Packers Deal [LOOK]
Less than 24 hours after receiving his walking papers, the Green Bay Packers agreed in principle with Smith on a one-year contract. Per media reports, the deal is worth $770,000 for the remainder of the 2021 season. Dallas remains on the hook for Smith’s $7.2 million base salary, which was fully guaranteed earlier this offseason.
Crazy Faith! Momma gone love this. #9onme 🧀 #ClearEyeView #JustBelieve #southside
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GB Coach Comments on Smith’s Acquisition
As Smith begins absorbing his new playbook, Packers inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti intimated the former Pro Bowl defender could be at least a week away from making his green and yellow debut.
“We’re not at that point yet to figure out how we’re going to use him,” Olivadotti said, per ESPN. “But I’m ahead of [defensive coordinator] Joe [Barry], I just met him.”