It has been a tough path back to full health for Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith since he suffered a devastating knee injury in his final collegiate game a little over two years ago. He continues to make progress, as he was able to take the field for his first campaign in 2018.

Smith has now taken another leap forward in his rehab as he shed the knee brace this offseason in team workouts to test out how his left leg and foot feel physically. According to Davide Moore of SportsDay, the 22-year-old voiced that his entire surgically-repaired knee feels better.

“Everything just feels better, from my emotion to my quickness to my explosiveness to my overall knowledge of the game,” Smith said Wednesday afternoon after the Cowboys completed their fifth organized team activity of the offseason.

“It's all about God's timing and going to continue to get better in that race to 100 percent. It's out of my hands, out of everyone's hands.

“We're just going to continue to ride.”

This is a huge step for Smith toward gaining full strength after suffering severe damage to the peroneal nerve in his left leg. He was able to play all 16 regular season games this past year, notching 82 tackles, but he had some noticeable limitations due to the injury.

Smith is still in the process of being able to lift his left foot toward his shin. There is no exact timeline in terms of when he will get completely to full strength, but the fact that he hasn't experienced any setbacks with the brace off is an encouraging sign.

The Cowboys have been quite patient with Smith's rehab process, and they could reap the reward of having a rising talent at the position if he's able to continue to build off this progress ahead of the 2018 season.