The Jets are moving on from Mazi Smith, according to Adam Schefter, cutting the defensive tackle who came over from Dallas as part of last season's trade that sent Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys.
Jets are releasing defensive tackle Mazi Smith, who was included in last season’s trade with Dallas for Quinnen Williams.
Smith was Dallas' first-round pick out of Michigan back in 2023, No. 26 overall, brought in to fix a run defense that had struggled the year before. Instead of becoming the anchor Dallas hoped for, he got flipped to New York as the third piece in the Quinnen Williams blockbuster, joining a 2026 second-rounder and a 2027 first-rounder heading back to the Jets.
That framing made Smith the guy who was supposed to soften the blow of losing a Pro Bowl-caliber interior lineman. It never happened. ProFootballTalk confirmed the waiver move, and the on-field case against him is brutal.
Report: Jets waive DT Mazi Smith. t.co/jI1wROYIzz
Rich Cimini laid out exactly why the Jets pulled the plug: Smith played in just 3 games last season and didn't record a single tackle. He reportedly logged plenty of preseason snaps this summer trying to save his spot, but couldn't crack New York's top rotation. For a former first-round pick two years removed from the draft, that's about as bad as it gets.
Meanwhile the other side of the ledger looks great for Dallas. Williams made the Pro Bowl in his first year with the Cowboys and was rewarded with a massive extension, which only sharpens how lopsided this trade now reads. New York gave up a proven interior force and got back draft capital plus a player who couldn't stay on the field.
For the Jets, cutting Smith isn't really the story on its own — it's confirmation that this trade is going to be judged almost entirely on those two future picks. If Smith never sniffs another 53-man roster, New York's front office needs that 2026 second and 2027 first to hit, because right now the player return on this deal is a zero.