Cowboys reveal 'tough' goodbye for Mazi Smith

The Dallas Cowboys made the blockbuster trade for New York Jets All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, and used fellow defensive tackle Mazi Smith as a sweetener in the deal.

Smith, a former first-round pick, never really got his Cowboys career off the ground and was often much-maligned by fans for his poor, inconsistent performances across his 39 games, but, as a first-round pick, much is expected.

In truth, the writing was on the wall early this season when Mazi was a healthy scratch, and he's only played five games this year (zero starts), and now he finds himself with Aaron Glenn and the Jets.

And head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed some details of his conversation with Mazi before the trade went through.

“I had a really good talk with Mazi,” Schottenheimer said. “He was obviously disappointed that it didn't work out for him here. I wish him nothing but the best. I told him sometimes change is good, and he gets a chance to go and start over in New York, that's not a bad thing.

"He won't be the first person that leaves one team and goes and has great success. I want that for him. I hope he has a great career. But it was tough to say goodbye to Mazi.”

More: Cowboys get monster injury update on defensive quartet 

Cowboys move on from Smith

Mazi's name had been thrown up as a possible trade candidate for the past 48 hours, and as it turns out, he played a role in getting Williams to The Star.

Things never clicked for Smith since arriving in Dallas, with his weight, coupled with the defensive schemes of Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer, Mazi just struggled to get any consistency in his game, and for a first-round pick in Year 3, you should be a bona fide starter.

That wasn't Mazi. And that is fine. Sometimes high picks don't work out.

Now, with a change of scenery, Mazi will join Glenn and the youth movement in New York in the hopes of being the latest player to benefit from a change of teams.

It never worked in Dallas for Smith, and as a result, less than two and a half years into his Cowboys career, the franchise cut ties.

More Cowboys news: 

• Cowboys could look into pass rush help from Titans ahead of NFL trade deadline
• Cowboys trade rumors from Ian Rapoport reveal deadline focus, edge rusher options
• Cowboys predicted to pull off deadline trade for $13 million edge rusher
• Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson trade rumors give Cowboys, 49ers, Eagles glimmer of hope