Getty The Cowboys' Tyron Smith
In January, Pro Football Focus asserted that Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith was the one free agent that the team could not afford to lose.
Now in February, the outlet says that if there is one spot where Smith could go if, indeed, he does leave the Cowboys is one of the league’s primary contenders from the last five seasons: The Kansas City Chiefs.
Smith will be a free agent this offseason having spent the entirety of his 13 seasons in the NFL with the Cowboys, going back to when he was the ninth overall pick in the league in 2011. He hasn’t had much to worry about contract-wise over the course of his career, not after he signed an eight-year, $98 million extension with the team in 2014.
And the Cowboys have not had much to worry about, performance-wise from Smith. He has earned a Pro Bowl spot eight times in a Cowboys uniform and is almost certainly on his way to the Hall of Fame. But Smith has never won a Super Bowl ring, nor has he even made an appearance in the Big Game.
Maybe the one thing that could tempt him out of Dallas would be the chance to play for an automatic contender like the Chiefs.
Cowboys’ Tyron Smith Still One of the ‘Best’
That’s the thinking at PFF as it sussed out the upcoming market for linemen in an article with the catchy title, “Potential landing spots for top offensive linemen.” Smith is 33 years old, but he is still as effective a left-side protector as ever.
“If Smith were to leave the one team he’s ever played with, the team that he nearly completed an eight-year extension with before signing a reduced one-year deal in 2023, it would presumably have to be a clear Super Bowl contender,” PFF wrote.
“So, the Chiefs are our obvious selection here, looking to replace veteran Donovan Smith with another veteran in Smith, who is still one of the best blindside pass protectors in the NFL when healthy.”
Donovan Smith signed on with the Chiefs this year after he was released by the Buccaneers, and he was brought in as a 30-year-old stopgap option. He played 12 games this season.
Chiefs Could Be a Strong Lure
The Cowboys’ Tyron Smith would be a big upgrade over Donovan Smith, who earned a 57.7 blocking grade with the Chiefs last season. That was good for 61st out of 81 graded tackles. Tyron Smith, meanwhile, had a grade of 83.7, which was fourth among all tackles. PFF ranks him as the 44th-best overall free agent in the NFL, and the first among linemen.
He is ranked No. 22 overall at CBS Sports.
The Cowboys would be reluctant to let him go, though the team has long planned to move Tyler Smith over to take Tyron Smith’s place.
The big question is whether, if the Cowboys were intent to move on, Tyron Smith would be willing to sign elsewhere or simply retire. He could certainly get the attention of a team like the Chiefs (or just about any other contender) because of his skill level, though keeping him healthy for the playoffs would be a necessity. Smith played only 17 games because of injuries in the last two seasons.
He could be had at a relatively low cost—just one year and $7.4 million projected at Spotrac and a one-year deal worth $10 million projected at PFF.