Patriots Country

Patriots Linked to Former Cowboys All-Pro in Free Agency

The New England Patriots have been floated as a destination for this former Dallas Cowboys star in NFL free agency.

Matthew Schmidt

October 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith (77) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
October 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith (77) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
In this story:

The New England Patriots badly need to shore up their offensive line this offseason, as they were probably the worst team in the NFL in that category this past season.

While the Patriots may decide to find their left tackle of the future in the NFL Draft, they also may want to take a look at the free-agent market, which offers some rather interesting veteran options.

One of them is Tyron Smith, who spent the 2024 campaign with the New York Jets but is most known for his star-studded run with the Dallas Cowboys between 2011 and 2023.

Bernd Buchmasser of Pats Pulpit has floated Smith as a potential candidate for New England this month, noting that he would be a solid short-term fix.

"The long-time Dallas Cowboys LT, who also spent the 2024 season with the Jets, is an experienced blocker who still performs at a high level but would not be a long-term option," Buchmasser wrote. "While there are questions about his future coming off a season-ending neck injury, a healthy and motivated Smith might offer good bang for the (relatively limited) buck and hold down the fort until another left tackle is ready."

Smith made eight Pro Bowl appearances while also earning a couple of First-Team All-Pros during his time with the Cowboys, but the USC product comes with one major caveat: he is very injury prone.

The 34-year-old played just 10 games this past year and has not played a full season since 2015. As a matter of fact, since 2020, Smith has participated in only 40 out of a possible 84 contests.

When healthy, Smith is still a good player, as evidenced by the fact that he registered a solid 73.7 overall grade at Pro Football Focus in 2024.

Perhaps the Pats could take a one-year flier on the former superstar.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

Published
Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

Home/News