NFL rumors: Cowboys working to keep longtime star on reworked deal

The Cowboys already made on big offseason decision by tagging Tony Pollard, but now they’re working to restructure the deal of a longtime star to keep him.

In what could be an offseason full of difficult decisions for the Dallas Cowboys, the team is trying to move quickly to make things work. On Tuesday, they officially put the franchise tag on running back Tony Pollard. And now they appear to be working to try and keep veteran star offensive tackle Tyron Smith in Dallas as well.

Smith has the fourth-highest salary cap hit on the Cowboys roster coming into the 2023 season, set to count $17.6 million against the cap, per Over the Cap. However, there were discussions already about the possibility of cutting Smith given that would save the team more than $9 million this season.

That is apparently not the plan, though. ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler reported on Wednesday that the Cowboys are working with Smith to keep him, potentially “reworking” his deal in order to keep him around.

NFL rumors: Cowboys working to keep Tyron Smith on reworked deal

Smith is in the final year of his contract but signing him to an extension, per Over the Cap, could help the team to recoup nearly $10 million in cap space while keeping Smith on the roster for this year and a few years beyond that.

The eight-time Pro Bowler and former first-round pick has struggled with health in recent years, playing just 17 games combined over the past three seasons, including only four this past campaign.

With that said, Smith has still performed at an extremely high level when he’s been on the field and could be vital to the Cowboys’ success early in the year. Terence Steele will be recovering from a torn ACL suffered late in the 2022 season, meaning Tyron Smith and Tyler Smith could be the bookends for the offensive line.

Even still, it’ll be interesting to see how Dallas reworks this contract, if it’s an extension, a restructure, or something different. Whatever it is, though, the organization clearly sees the need for Smith’s presence this season and perhaps for longer, so they’re already moving to make it viable to happen.