Tyron Smith Top Landing Spots: 2025 NFL Free Agency Outlook

New York Jets and former long-time Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith was one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL for an extended period of time. He's made five All-Pro teams, two with the first team and two with the second team, been selected to eight Pro Bowls, and earned a spot on the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team for his legendary play for Big D.

Unfortunately, a multitude of injuries have slowly derailed his career, and he's played in just 40 games in the last five seasons, averaging just eight per year, which isn't even half a season. In 2024, in Week 10, he suffered a neck injury against the Arizona Cardinals while playing for the Jets, and was placed on injured reserve, which ended yet another year prematurely.

If he can stay healthy, and that's a big "if", he could have another productive few seasons ahead of him. And there are likely a few teams willing to take risks signing him for the right price, if he wants to continue playing. Obviously, some of these teams constitute much better landing spots than others, so let's break down the best teams Smith could go to ahead of the 2025 NFL season.

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Philadelphia Eagles

Obviously, being paired with legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland would be a dream for Smith, though it would be with a divisional rival he likely hated for his playing time with the Cowboys. Players' loyalties shouldn't extend further than their contracts, so no shame on him. Smith wouldn't start, though -- he'd be serving as a backup behind Eagles starting left tackle Jordan Mailata.

Top 101 NFL players from the 2024 season:

#3: OT Jordan Mailata

🦅 95.1 PFF grade (2nd best by an OL in the PFF era) pic.twitter.com/WYQkux7T2A

— PFF (@PFF) February 21, 2025

Mailata's been one of the NFL's best overall offensive linemen in recent years, so if he were to get hurt, it would be a significant blow for an offense that's so dependent on him. Smith, one of the best OTs in history, could then fill in for him, giving the Eagles a crucial lifeline in case of disaster.

And Smith could continue to refine his skills. The aforementioned Stoutland is one of the best coaches in all of professional sports. Each year, his offensive line performance is a masterclass in player development, and Mailata is the latest example of just how elite he is. Mailata didn't play American football until he was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round of 2018. His story is utterly remarkable, and he credited the fact that he attended "Jeff Stoutland University" as key to his development.

Jeff Stoutland is so good at his job its actually scary man pic.twitter.com/Qr6wGWVLxk

— Jay 🦅💚 (JST) (@EaglesBurna) March 14, 2025

It's basically cheating to put the Eagles as a good landing spot for a veteran offensive lineman near the end of his playing days, because Stoutland is just that good.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals would be a good fit for Smith for other reasons. He definitely wouldn't be a backup, though. Perhaps Cincinnati would be willing to pay him a bit more, because their OL has been a problem for years now, ever since quarterback Joe Burrow was drafted, and before then as well. And it makes sense, because they're not investing much money into one of their most important position groups.

According to Spotrac, the Bengals are currently 26th in offensive line spending

No excuse why they shouldn’t get two guards in this free agency pic.twitter.com/EHUVgPNK9M

— Drake Burton (@bengalsdrake) March 13, 2025

Burrow is often under duress in the pocket, and he's taken a ton of sacks so far because of it. The team's current offensive tackles, Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims, ranked 92nd and 96th in Pro Football Focus grade for the 2024 season. That's just not good enough, especially for a team that's considering trading away its best defensive player to clear up cap space to dedicate a huge chunk of their spending to Burrow and wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase and Higgins are set up to receive mega-deals ahead of the 2025 season.

From The Insiders on @NFLNetwork: The #Bengals have made real progress on big-time contracts for their big-time WRs. Look for Ja'Marr Chase's contract to land at $40M+ per year, while Tee Higgins should land in the high $20Ms. pic.twitter.com/EIvlwwnbHk

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2025

And, in my mind, it seems optimistic for them that Higgins would accept less than $30 million per year at WR. Smith could help at least stabilize the offensive line while they continue to search for answers in the draft, and could mentor a rookie tackle for a year or two while he holds down the fort for Burrow. He would also add much-needed depth, as Cincy is thin at both tackle spots, especially considering the weakness of their starters.

Smith ranked 30th among offensive tackles in 2024 with the Jets. He would immediately put in as a starter, and have an excellent offense to operate in. He'd likely be highly motivated to protect a future Hall of Fame quarterback well, and if he stayed mostly healthy and helped the OL make strides, he could revitalize his career, and start earning better contracts later into his 30s.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags could use Smith's help, and in fact, likely need it badly. They didn't have a very good pass-protecting offensive line in 2024, and with quarterback Trevor Lawrence often dealing with injuries, better protection for his blind side would go a long way helping the offense. And new head coach Liam Coen's blocking schemes would likely help Smith look even better than he is. This was a common them for offensive linemen in Tampa Bay, as the overall blocking was much improved in 2024 from 2023.

"The Jaguars have to fix their offensive line..

I think Liam Coen will rebuild the confidence of Trevor Lawrence" ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive https://t.co/EE5vLbpsy3 pic.twitter.com/eZpUJuOaTb

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 28, 2025

The line was somewhat improved in 2024 after a terrible 2023, but the mid-season trade of their left tackle to another team didn't help. Smith would immediately provide veteran leadership, be able to mentor the guys under him, and be the best offensive lineman on the team, as long as his neck isn't destroyed. The Jags have had a long history of poor OL play that he'd help stabilize.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are the last "ideal" landing spot for Smith. He'd immediately get to join a team that's recently won three Super Bowls, and fill in the biggest weakness on the entire squad -- offensive tackle. Rookie Kingsley Suamataia played poorly enough to be benched after two games, and was replaced by RT Wanya Morris. From that point, injuries and poor play kept causing more shuffling along the offensive line.

Broadcast just showed “highlights” of rookie LT Kingsley Suamataia … I saw at least 3 holds there. pic.twitter.com/VkQ86zU256

— Kyle (@ImKyleMangum) September 6, 2024

As is standard with Kansas City tackles right now, they can't perform well unless they cheat. Suamataia was constantly holding defenders rushing the passer, and when he wasn't, he was getting beat handily. Sounds just like Chiefs OT Jawaan Taylor, already infamous by cheating as much as possible with constant false starts and lining up off side.

What do yall think about getting Tyron Smith for a 1 year contract?

He's still pretty good and would be good mentoring for Kingsley pic.twitter.com/t96JptpLi1

— NGB (@TheGoatMahomes) February 28, 2025

If Smith were allowed to cheat this much, or even if he wasn't, he'd be a great addition, and stabilize the worst positions group for the most recent Super Bowl's losers, and perhaps aid them in making another title run.

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