Jaylon Smith, Saints Reportedly Agree to Contract; Played for Giants, Cowboys

Jaylon Smith is heading to the New Orleans Saints.

The linebacker worked out with the Saints on Thursday, and NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the team decided to go forward with signing him.

Smith began his career with the Dallas Cowboys, playing 58 games across five seasons for the team before a two-game stint with the Green Bay Packers and then a 17-game tenure with the New York Giants in 2021 and 2022. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2019 with the Cowboys.

Smith was a second-round pick by the Cowboys in 2016, but this was a drop after he had been looked at as a potential top-five pick going into the season. He suffered a torn ACL and LCL injury in the Fiesta Bowl while playing for Notre Dame and this tanked his stock in the draft.

He missed his entire rookie season, but had a solid start to his career, starting 69 of 87 games for the Cowboys. He was released midseason in 2021, and struggled to gain footing in the league until a slight resurgence with the Giants last season. He started 11 regular season games for the team and helped them reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

He started both of the Giants playoff games, recording 21 tackles. This performance helps him land with the Saints, who had a defense ranked towards the bottom of the league in 2022. The Saints went 7-10 and missed the playoffs, but added quarterback Derek Carr and figure to be a contender in the weak NFC South in 2023.