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New Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith will need a full year to recover from the knee injury he suffered in the Fiesta Bowl. But perhaps no more than a year.

That’s the word from Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones, who believes that Smith could be ready to go in January of 2017, in time to help the Cowboys in the playoffs. Jones said on 105.3 The Fan that he doesn’t expect Smith to go on injured reserve during his rookie season because the Cowboys will be counting on him in January.

“We will not IR him,” Jones said. “We’ll take a chance he’ll be back for the playoffs.”

That assumes the Cowboys make the playoffs.

Jones said people who have already said Smith has no shot of playing as a rookie simply don’t understand how unpredictable the healing of nerve damage is. Smith might heal faster than most people think.

“That’s BS,” Jones said. “There’s no guarantees . . . don’t put a lot in these estimates.”

The Cowboys’ head team physician also happens to be the surgeon who repaired Smith’s knee. So if any team has good information on Smith, it’s Dallas. And Jones sounds very confident that a very good linebacker will be playing in Dallas sooner than you think.