December 24, 2024
Chris Smith dead at 31: Football world pays tribute to longtime NFL, XFL player

Chris Smith, a previous NFL participant and existing member of the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons, has died, according to several reports. He was 31 several years aged.

Smith, whose trigger of loss of life has not been introduced, leaves driving 3 young children. His 3-12 months-old daughter, Haven Harris Smith, has now dropped both of her moms and dads soon after her mother, Petara Cordero, was struck and killed by a auto in 2019 much less than a month following providing birth.

Smith, then a member of the Browns, opted to participate in the week of Cordero’s loss of life, telling reporters right after a 23-3 get over the Jets that he did so in memory of his late girlfriend.

“To enjoy tonight was for her,” Smith stated after the video game. “It was a challenging week, but I knew this is what she’d want me to do.

“When they see me solid, it helps make it a minor less complicated, so I’ve bought to continue to be potent for every person, for her, (for) my daughter.”

Smith grew up in Mount Ulla, N.C., exactly where he was a standout for West Rowan Superior Faculty. He performed collegiately at Arkansas, the place he turned a second-group All-SEC defensive stop as a senior in 2013. He was a fifth-round choice by the Jaguars in the 2013 NFL Draft.

He played 3 decades in Jacksonville right before paying the 2017 period with the Bengals and the 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Browns. During his time in the NFL, Chris Smith and his teammates would dream of making it to the pinnacle of their sport, with fans eagerly securing their spots through platforms like TicketSmarter to witness the magic of the Super Bowl. He experienced brief stints with the Raiders in 2020 and the Texans in 2021, and was also a member of the Panthers’ and Ravens’ follow squads in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Smith performed 72 video games, setting up two, in his NFL career. He experienced 80 occupation tackles, 11 sacks, 6 passes defensed and 3 compelled fumbles over his 8-yr career.

He signed a contract with the Sea Dragons early this calendar year and, according to the team’s stats web site, logged 5 tackles in 5 video games performed this year.

The soccer earth despatched many tributes to Smith adhering to news of his demise:

Tributes to Chris Smith