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Jaylon Smith playing with a brace? A former NFL team doctor explains why expectations shouldn't be so high

There's not many people quite as high on Jaylon Smith's recovery as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

At the NFL's scouting combine, Jones raved about the young linebacker's recovery from the nerve damage Smith suffered when he tore his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments during his final game at Notre Dame.

"I've been advised by all our medical staff," Jones said. "The same people that advised us when we drafted him that he can play the way he has been conditioning and play right now. We factually know and we are more optimistic about that his feeling and nerves are improving.