The New York Jets completed their offensive line revamp over the weekend, filling the last remaining hole along their front five by signing former Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith to a one-year deal.
Smith will join right tackle Morgan Moses and left guard John Simpson as new additions to a Jets OL that already included right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and center Joe Tippmann.
Smith was an outstanding signing for Gang Green, especially at a reported base price of around $7 million. But New York can’t stand pat after filling out its starting offensive line in front of Aaron Rodgers.
Jets Still Need Offensive Line Depth After Signing Tyron Smith
Smith should be a Hall of Famer when he eventually hangs up his cleats. He was dominant during his 13-year run in Dallas, starting 161 games while earning two first-team All-Pro nods, three second-team berths, and eight Pro Bowl assignments.
The former first-round pick showed no signs of slowing down in 2023. Smith handled 1-on-1 pass-blocking situations on 84.5% of his snaps last season, the third-highest among left tackles, per Next Gen Stats. His 6.7% pressure rate allowed on those snaps was the best mark in the NFL.
Smith is excellent when he’s on the field. However, availability is a skill, and the 33-year-old Smith hasn’t completed a full slate of games since the 2016 campaign.
He’s dealt with injuries and missed at least three games in every season since. In 2020, a neck issue cost him all but two games. Two years later, a hamstring injury sidelined Smith for 13 contests.
In 2023, Smith managed back, neck, knee, and ankle injuries while starting 13 regular-season games. He was typically limited during Wednesday and Thursday practices as the Cowboys limited his workload.
Grabbing Smith for $7 million guaranteed (with a maximum value of around $20 million) represented a steal for the Jets. But that price effectively bakes in the fact that New York general manager Joe Douglas will likely need to invest in a swing tackle who can fill in if Smith misses time.
If Smith were the only Jets lineman with a troubling injury history, Gang Green might cross its fingers and try to get through the upcoming season. But he’s not.
While Moses had been remarkably durable until last year, he missed three games with a shoulder injury in 2023 and is entering his age-33 campaign. Vera-Tucker’s versatility gives New York optionality, but he played in just 12 games over the past two seasons due to a torn triceps and ruptured Achilles.
Fortunately, the Jets are in a position to add a swing tackle this offseason. With over $20 million in cap space and existing contracts available for restructures, money won’t be an issue for New York.
The 2024 free-agent offensive tackle market has been relatively slow to develop. That allowed the Jets to sign Smith at an affordable rate and could permit them to find another veteran in the coming weeks.
Trent Brown will probably find a starting job elsewhere, but Gang Green could make it worth his while to become their OT3. Otherwise, experienced options like Yosh Nijman, Josh Jones, Andrus Peat, Kendall Lamm, and Geron Christian should be on New York’s radar.
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The Jets used fourth-round picks on offensive tackles Max Mitchell and Carter Warren in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Sitting at No. 10 in the 2024 NFL Draft, New York won’t be forced into selecting another OT. But this year’s deep offensive tackle class could allow Douglas and Co. to find Smith’s long-term successor.
Ola Fashanu (Penn State), Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State), Amarius Mims (Georgia), and JC Latham (Alabama) could all be of interest to the Jets. But Washington’s Troy Fautanu became New York’s left tackle of the future in PFN draft analyst Ian Cummings‘ recent seven-round mock.
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