during the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 1, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona.

After sitting out his entire rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys, linebacker Jaylon Smith is setting the focus on getting on the field for his NFL debut in the Sunday night season opener this fall.

While playing at a charity golf tournament, Smith told reporters he intends to play in the Cowboys’ season opener against the New York Giants. The Cowboys are not looking to rush Smith back, but Jerry Jones sounded optimistic about his progress despite Smith still wearing a knee brace. Smith suffered a severe knee injury in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl while playing in his final game for Notre Dame. The injury wrecked his draft stock, taking him from a sure bet for the first round into the second round, where the Cowboys picked him up knowing he would be out for some time.

“Last year my season was different from now,” Smith said, according to ESPN. “It was planting and growing and now it’s going to be reaping what I sowed. It’s just an amazing opportunity to be back out there with the Cowboys. And honestly it’s just a matter of you guys seeing it.”

For now, the good news is the Cowboys anticipate Smith will be practicing with the team later this month, and that is an encouraging sign:

“Jaylon will be practicing,” Jones said in reference to the team’s OTAs later this month. “What we want to do is keep him fresh. We’ll probably alternate days with him. When we get to those OTAs, you’ll probably see him every other day.”

From there, the goal of being in the best possible shape for training camp and the preseason can be the new focus, followed by making his NFL regular season debut in the season opener.

[Pro Football Talk]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.