The Jets are placing the future Hall of Fame starter on injured reserve

The Jets hoped they were getting the Tyron Smith of old when they signed him to an incentive-laden contract in free agency to become their starting left tackle.

Instead, they got another veteran who looked nothing like the player he was in his prime. And now his time with the Jets is likely over after the team placed him on injured reserve on Saturday.

Smith will miss at least the next four games, but with just six games remaining in the season, the Jets are out of playoff contention and their left tackle of the future, rookie first-round pick Olu Fashanu, already appears to be gaining valuable experience collect It is highly unlikely that we will see Smith on the field again.

BUY JETS TICKETS: STUBHUB, LIVING SEATS, TICKET SMART, TICKETMASTER

Former general manager Joe Douglas, who was fired last week, signed Smith to a one-year deal that could have paid him up to $20 million but included only $6.5 million guaranteed. And despite playing every snap for the Jets in the first nine games of the season, the 33-year-old Smith never looked nearly like the player he once was with the Cowboys: one of the best left tackles of all time.

The Jets limited his practice time with regular veteran rest days. But it didn’t matter. Smith suffered a neck injury in the first half of the Week 10 loss to the Cardinals and has not played since.

The timing of his injury proved costly for Smith, who enjoyed some big incentive despite a difficult first nine games of the season in which he allowed five sacks and committed six penalties.

Smith hadn’t played more than 13 games in a season since 2015 and missed 36 of 67 regular-season games over the past four seasons before signing with the Jets. So it made sense that his contract was built around two big playing time incentives: He could earn up to $5.75 million if he played between 38 and 68% of the offensive snaps that year, and up to an additional 6, $25 million if he played between 74 and 98% of the team’s offensive snaps.

Smith has played 592 snaps this season, and the Jets are on pace to play 1,046 offensive snaps this season, meaning Smith is on track to play about 57% of the Jets snaps this year .

Smith’s first set of playing time incentives pays $750,000 for hitting 38% of offensive snaps and an additional $1 million for every additional 6% of snaps (up to the full $5.75 million for hitting of 68%). So Smith will almost certainly earn at least $2.75 million in bonuses if he exceeds 50% of snaps, and could earn $3.75 million in bonuses if his percentage exceeds the 56% mark remains, although it seems highly unlikely that he will reach the 62% mark necessary to earn $4.75 million.

Smith will also likely miss out on the other incentives in his contract, including $500,000 for making the Pro Bowl and $250,000 for each playoff win he is on the roster for.

If this is the end for Smith, it will have been a remarkable career: The ninth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of USC, Smith made eight Pro Bowls with the Cowboys and was a two-time AP First-Team All-Pro. At the peak of his powers, he set the standard that every other left tackle in the league wanted to achieve.

But his 10 games with the Jets proved the Cowboys were right not to re-sign Smith after his contract expired last year. And now the Jets have moved on to Fashanu, the No. 11 overall pick in this year’s draft, hoping he can end a nearly decade-long search for their left tackle of the future.