{"id":93386,"date":"2025-08-25T16:55:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=93386"},"modified":"2025-08-25T16:55:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:55:32","slug":"ex-cowboys-stars-praise-for-mazi-smith-is-a-horror-show-for-dallas-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=93386","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Cowboys Star\u2019s Praise for Mazi Smith Is a Horror Show for Dallas Fans"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"relative z-10\">\n<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large !mb-[10px] md:!mb-[20px]\">Mazi Smith has a fellow first-rounder and Michigan alum sticking up for him as roster cuts loom.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9 !mb-[20px]\">\n<figure class=\"relative\">\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F129%2F01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_7913,h_4451\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/129\/01k3gq74qamf09kc34n8.jpg\" alt=\"Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith\" width=\"7913\" height=\"4451\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 absolute bottom-0 left-0 right-0 text-xs text-[#FFF] p-[0.75rem] text-shadow-[0_0_8px_rgba(255,255,255,1)] not-italic\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center gap-4 absolute bottom-0 left-0 right-0 text-xs text-[#FFF] p-[0.75rem] text-shadow-[0_0_8px_rgba(255,255,255,1)] not-italic\"><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith | Cooper Neill\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<div class=\"article-content [&amp;_p]:leading-[30px] [&amp;_p]:md:leading-[28px] [&amp;_li]:leading-[30px] [&amp;_li]:md:leading-[28px]\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">With the NFL preseason coming to a close over the weekend, the full focus of every franchise is now on getting its roster trimmed to 53 players ahead of Tuesday afternoon&#8217;s deadline. And as it pertains to the Dallas Cowboys, first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer undoubtedly has\u00a0plenty of tough decisions\u00a0to make, one of which is\u00a0whether to keep\u00a0disappointing defensive tackle Mazi Smith.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">As Smith was once named college football&#8217;s biggest &#8220;freak&#8221; due to his ridiculous blend of size and speed, which helped him earn First-Team All-Big Ten honors in his final season with the Michigan Wolverines in 2022, there was naturally a lot of excitement among fans of America&#8217;s Team when the Cowboys selected him in the first round of the 2023 draft with the 26th overall pick.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">There is a lot of speculation that Smith could be shown the door. But not everyone is convinced that the Cowboys should end the experiment, as former Dallas defensive end Taco Charlton has come to Smith&#8217;s defense, which Mazi may not believe to be the best thing in the world for him right now\u2014you know, what with Charlton being a first-round bust from Michigan himself.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">On Sunday, Charlton took to his X account to let his thoughts be known on the matter. &#8220;Stop comparing my situation to bros! He still got plenty of time to turn it around! I was released early because a coach didn\u2019t like my personality and I made a stupid tweet. They goin give him time,&#8221;\u00a0Charlton wrote.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Taco Charlton goes to bat for Mazi Smith as Cowboys&#8217; trim roster to 53 players<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Like Smith, Charlton was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection in his final season with the Wolverines before being taken by Dallas in the first round of the 2017 draft with the 28th overall pick. And also like Smith, things just didn&#8217;t work out the way the Cowboys hoped they would.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Reported clashes with the coaching staff certainly didn&#8217;t help, nor did the injuries that kept him out of six games in his second season. In his third year, after being a healthy scratch during the first two games of the regular season, Charlton tweeted (and then deleted) &#8220;Free me&#8221; on what was then Twitter. He then tweeted, &#8220;Trust me the last thing I want to do is have to go to social media to get what I want so I can play football again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">And that was the last straw. The Cowboys attempted to trade Taco, but after not finding a suitable deal, they just waived him and took the salary cap hit.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">He was ultimately claimed by the Dolphins and then bounced around the league for the next few years, his last NFL regular-season action coming in 2022 with the Chicago Bears. Charlton has also played two seasons in the UFL, spending the 2024 campaign with the Birmingham Stallions and the 2025 season back in Texas with the Arlington Renegades.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Simply put, things just haven&#8217;t worked out. Smith showed flashes of brilliance here and there over the past two years, but from an overall standpoint, the bad\u00a0<em>far<\/em> outweighs the good. While PFF grades don&#8217;t always tell the entire story, the fact that the Grand Rapids native ranked 208th out of 220 defensive linemen a season ago with a 34.8 overall mark says enough.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">So, again, this may not be the kind of support Smith is looking for right now. Or maybe it is, as he may need all the support he can get as he awaits his fate. There&#8217;s a chance the Cowboys\u00a0could trade him, of course, but we&#8217;ll just have to wait and see how things play out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mazi Smith has a fellow first-rounder and Michigan alum sticking up for him as roster cuts loom. Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Mazi Smith | Cooper Neill\/GettyImages &nbsp;&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ex-Cowboys Star\u2019s Praise for Mazi Smith Is a Horror Show for Dallas Fans - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=93386\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-Cowboys Star\u2019s Praise for Mazi Smith Is a Horror Show for Dallas Fans - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mazi Smith has a fellow first-rounder and Michigan alum sticking up for him as roster cuts loom. 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