Brothers Jaylon and Rod Smith have enjoyed being Dallas Cowboys teammates since Jaylon entered the NFL in 2016. But now Rod has joined the New York Giants as a free agent, and his younger brother sent out a touching farewell message today on social media.
The news broke yesterday that Rod, who has been with the Cowboys since 2015 as a backup running back, signed with the Giants. His previous contract had expired following the 2018 season.
The #Giants have signed former #Cowboys reserve RB Rod Smith, who struggled last year but averaged 4.2 yards per rush in 2017.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 8, 2019
New York has a full RB depth chart already with Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman, Paul Perkins, and others under contract. Perhaps they are considering Rod as a fullback, which he dabbled with briefly during his time in Dallas.
Rod’s brother Jaylon, now a star linebacker for the Cowboys, is certainly rooting for him with his new team. In fact, it sounds like little brother would love a chance to plant Rod into the turf.
https://twitter.com/thejaylonsmith/status/1126486344753192960
Rod is about 3.5 years older than Jaylon, so the two hadn’t had much opportunity to be teammates prior to the NFL. The Smiths have been part of two playoff teams and three winning seasons with the Cowboys during their time together.
Now they remain in the same division, and if Rod makes the Giants’ roster then perhaps they will finally get a chance to play against one another. Rod had already graduated from Ohio State when the Buckeyes faced Jaylon’s Fighting Irish in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. That was the game where Jaylon suffered his career-threatening knee injury.
No doubt, having his older brother so close in 2016 helped Jaylon during his rehabilitation. And if we’ve been thrilled to see his progress and development into a star these last few years, we can only imagine how Rod felt.
Even though he’s now a division rival, Rod Smith gets the same fond farewell from us here at the Inside The Star for his contributions to the Cowboys since 2015.
