“Rather have him than Micah Parsons” - Fans react as Cowboys make Tyler Smith NFL's highest-paid guard with $96,000,000 extension

Tyler Smith is getting a big payday - a historic one, in fact.

On Saturday, just a day before the Week 2 game against the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys were announced to have given the one-time All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler a four-year, $96-million extension ($81.2 million guaranteed) - the largest guard contract in league history.

This is also the largest contract the organization has given this season, and it comes just over two weeks after edge rusher Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers before Week 1:

Ian Rapoport

@RapSheet

Sources: The #Cowboys and standout G Tyler Smith agreed to terms on a 4-year, $96M extension —$24M per year — to make him the NFL’s new highest-paid at his position. Smith gets a whopping $81.2M guaranteed in a deal done by agents @JoePanos1 and Todd France at @AthletesFirst.

At least one fan was not disappointed by the turn of events:

Astoban 🐦‍🔥

@YLIAfan

@AdamSchefter I’d rather have him than Parsons🤷‍♂️

Aaron Dibert

@dibert_aaron

@AdamSchefter That is a good signing. 100%

ℜ𝔢𝔭𝔩𝔶𝔇𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔫 💬😈

@JoaquinMQ7

@AdamSchefter Tyler Smith’s massive deal secures Cowboys’ line!

Others, however, took more rueful tones:

"Should have just paid Parsons," one insisted.

"Still need a pass rush on defense," another reminded.

"Bring in Jadeveon Clowney!!" another implored.

A day before the deal, head coach Brian Schottenheimer had praised Smith as "the best guard in football". He also extended that praise to the rest of the offensive line - tackles Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele, guard Tyler Booker, and center Cooper Beebe:

“I love the mindset of our football team right now. What I want to point to is the physicality of the offensive line, the way they’re playing. Those guys, there’s an urgency and they want to play the game the right way and that’s exciting.”

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Tyler Smith urges "most dangerous" play from Cowboys' offensive line ahead of Week 2 game vs. Giants

After a 20-24 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles in the Kickoff Game, Tyler Smith and the Cowboys will face the New York Giants and their vaunted pass rush this Sunday.

Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence has established himself as one of the most prolific QB-sacking interior linemen in the league, hitting a career-high nine in 2024. He is complemented by a monstrous edge rusher trio of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and rookie Abdul Carter.

To that end, Smith is imploring the offensive line to be at their best. He told the press on Friday:

“We’ve got to be the most dangerous group on the field at all times — especially if we want to dominate games the way I know we want to. In order to do that, you got to have that fighter mentality."

Kickoff for the game is at 1 pm on FOX.