Tyron Smith retires with Cowboys: Jerry Jones proclaims him a Hall of Famer, regrets not winning a Super Bowl

FRISCO, Texas — Eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith knew in his gut that the Dallas Cowboys were home when he arrived on his pre-draft visit 14 years ago back in 2011 before going ninth overall in the draft out of USC. 

“During the draft process, I visited a lot of teams, but one of the teams stood out, the Dallas Cowboys,” Smith said Wednesday. “The moment I stepped into Dallas, I knew this was home. I actually missed another team’s interview because the Cowboys asked me to meet Jerry [Jones]. As it turns out, I’m glad I missed it because Dallas became home.”

Fast forward to today, and the 2010s All-Decade Team left tackle signed his final NFL contract to officially a retire a Cowboy following 13 seasons in Dallas (2011-2023) and one with the New York Jets (2024). The massive organizational presence for Smith’s retirement press conference hammered home his familial sentiment about the franchise. The attendees included, but were not limited to, the following:

While Dallas drafting Smith ninth overall now looks like an obvious choice for owner and general manager Jerry Jones to have made, it did break a Dallas draft precedent that held for decades. Prior to Smith going in the opening round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the last offensive lineman Jones took in the first round was Howard Richards (No. 26 overall) in 1981. 

One of the many things that stood out about Smith to Jones was that he would work with his mother and family in the janitorial business. Jones noted Dallas had typically leaned toward edge rushers and corners in the first round up to that point, but he couldn’t stay away from “the promise” and character of Smith. Smith’s mother was in attendance at the press conference Wednesday in addition to his wife and children. 

“I never imagined that a kid from Southern California who started out cleaning windows, working in janitorial jobs would be standing here today, retiring after 14 years in the NFL,” Smith said. “It’s been quite a journey, and you can’t talk about the ending without first appreciating the beginning. … My mom made countless sacrifices just to help me reach this point.”  

“I can really say no player … have I ever been more impressed with him [Smith] both on and off the field,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Wednesday. “He’s the youngest player I think that we’ve certainly had as a starter (at age 20 at the beginning of the 2011 season). … His pride from his parental supervision of teaching him work ethic and making him feel accomplished and a part of the team. … He had the highest character grade in the [2011] draft.” 

The only regret Jones has about Smith’s career is that he wasn’t able to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy and win a Super Bowl with both he and nine-time Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin, who also retired this offseason. Jones also confirmed both Smith and Martin will be in the team’s Ring of Honor, saying “there’s no question they’re going in the Ring of Honor.” It needed to be said given Pro Hall of Fame head coach Jimmy Johnson’s long wait to become a member. 

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re going to be in the NFL Hall of Fame, there’s no doubt,” Jones said to Smith. “It was just a couple months ago we were sitting here unbelievably with another player that will be there in the Hall of Fame [Martin]. We won’t have a player ever with the Dallas Cowboys, I can predict this, that shares better credentials on how they came, how they work, how they use their background to work and what they accomplished and meant to the team. It is a tragedy that we didn’t get the Super Bowl with you sitting out there at that left tackle. …. But that doesn’t take away from the fact of what you’ve accomplished in the NFL, Tyron. …. It is an honor to… say that you were a Dallas Cowboy in your career, and I want to be the first one to shake your hand when you go in that NFL Hall of Fame.”

Jones making these proclamations about Smith is more than fair considering both the left tackle’s on-field body of work and devotion to Dallas. In the prime of Smith’s career at the age of 24 in 2014, he signed an eight-year, $97.6 million extension with $22.1 million guaranteed. Many NFL players today with Smith’s ability at that age will sign three-or-four-year deals to continue re-upping their annual salary as their positional market resets over time. Not Smith, which is something he explained after signing his final Cowboys contract on Wednesday to retire with Dallas. Jones himself was also incredibly grateful for this day after calling losing Smith to the Jets in free agency last offseason “like losing a family member.”

“Playing here before I signed that contract, I already knew that this was going to be home, and I wanted to do whatever it took to be here for a long period of time,” Smith said. “You know how everything went, but to come back here and still sign a contract to be back home. … I wish I could have played here a little bit longer. I wish I could have played til I was 40, but that’s not how things go. You have to listen to your body and move on from there.”

Iron sharpens iron

In Smith’s opening statement, he made it clear some of his favorite Dallas moments were honing his craft with teammates at training camp. Specifically with some of the Cowboys’ top defensive linemen of the last decade like Ware, four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons and defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford. 

“Some of my favorite memories will always be grinding in training camp with you guys like Tyrone Crawford, D-Law [DeMarcus Lawrence] and Micah [Parsons],” Smith said. “DWare taught me a lot. He taught me that you’re not [always] the biggest man on the field or the strongest man on the field, and then it comes down to technique. … Games early on that I struggled with, he pulled me to the side and worked with me. Helped me be who I am today as far as a player. I still owe the credit to that man for teaching me how to shave my head.”

When Smith became the elder statesman in the Dallas trenches, he made sure to pay it forward and provide similar tutelage to Parsons, now a three-time All-Pro edge rusher, in his later years with the Cowboys. 

“Early on, DWare approached me and helped me along. I just understood what it meant, it took all of us,” Smith said when asked about taking the time to specifically work with Parsons. “So if anything, I can help any other teammate, bring him along or help him with any kind of thing no one else is telling him just to help us win or help that player just be a better person or a better player, I’ll give them that advice. This game is not just one person here and there. It takes all of us to win this game.” 

“Tyron is intimating bro,” Parsons said back in training camp in 2023. “When I was going against Tyron my rookie year as one of the first [NFL] left tackles I ever went against, I was like ‘Man this guy is hard to beat.’ I didn’t understand what I was doing and how I wanted to set him up. I learned from him, and I learned from all of that.”

Smith’s example is already being passed down by Parsons as he works with 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton on his development, ensuring a legacy that will last for years to come.