Packers reach agreement with Jaylon Smith

The Green Bay Packers didn’t land All Pro corner Stephon Gilmore, but they might have found help for their defense after all in former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith.

Smith reached an agreement Thursday morning on a one-year contract, said his agent Doug Hendrickson of Wasserman.

The move comes less than 24 hours after news broke that the Packers were interested in Gilmore, shortly after he was traded from the New England Patriots to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft. But, the Packers did not have enough room under the salary cap to acquire Gilmore via trade, because they would have had to inherit the remaining $5.8 million of his base salary for this year, versus the current season cap. The Packers only have about $6.5 million in salary cap space, and still need room to maneuver in case injuries force moves in the remainder of the season.

Smith, however, fits within the cap because the Cowboys owe his entire $7.2 million base salary from this season, thanks to veteran pay termination rules.

He will likely take the roster spot of outside linebacker Chauncey Rivers, who will be placed on the injured reserve list after he suffered a torn ACL on the second-to-last play of Wednesday’s practice.

With the Packers, Smith could earn a spot in the starting lineup alongside De’Vondre Campbell, who has emerged as one of the best players this season, or simply provide depth. Second-year player Krys Barnes opened the season as the other starter in the middle; he missed the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a concussion suffered the previous week against the San Francisco 49ers.

Without Barnes, the Packers used a combination of Ty Summers and Oren Burks alongside Campbell.

Smith, 26, saw his role diminished with the Cowboys thanks to the addition of first-round pick Micah Parsons, the production of Leighton Vander Esch and the return of Keanu Neal from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Smith was selected in the second round in 2016 by the Cowboys even though they considered it unlikely he would play a season after he suffered a knee injury in his final collegiate game with Notre Dame.

He made his debut in 2017 and has played in every game since.