Edwin Alexander Smith (born May 22, 1982), is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

and was drafted by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in the third round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

. Smith was also a member of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Early years

Smith attended high school at J. K. Mullen High School in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. As a senior, he was a Super Prep first-team All-American, Prep Star All-Midlands, All-State and All-Centennial League selection. He was a Nominee for the Fred Steinmark Award, which is given to the Colorado Athlete of the Year. He also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and ran track.

College career

Smith played

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He was a three-year starter and was runner-up to the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end, in 2004. Some of his honors included 2004 second-team consensus All-American, 2004 Team MVP, 2003 Honorable mention All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

, 2003 Honorable mention academic All-Pac-10 and 2002 Academic All-Pac-10. He finished his career starting 32 of 44 games, making 107 receptions for 1,291 yards and eight

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Smith was drafted by the

in the third round of the

. As a rookie, he started 10 of 16 games and recorded 41 receptions for 367 yards and two touchdowns. In 2006, he started 7 of 14 games and made 35 receptions for 250 and three touchdowns and in 2007 he started all 14 games he played in totaling 385 yards on 32 receptions and three touchdowns. In his last year with the Buccaneers in 2008 he started 12 of 14 games making 21 receptions for 250 yards and three touchdowns. Smith finished his career with the Buccaneers starting 43 of 58 games, recording 129 receptions for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns.

New England Patriots

On April 30, 2009, Smith was traded to the

for a fifth round

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

pick. He was released during final cuts on September 5.

Philadelphia Eagles

Smith signed with the

on September 8, 2009.

Cleveland Browns

Smith signed a one-year contract with the

on May 4, 2010. He re-signed with them on March 13, 2012.

Cincinnati Bengals

On April 16, 2013, Smith signed with the

New Orleans Saints

The

signed Smith on August 7, 2015. He was waived ten days later.

Washington Redskins

On December 15, 2015, Smith signed with the

Personal life

Smith's father, Ed Smith, played defensive end for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. Smith married model Angela Gonzalez and they had twin boys Amari and Aiden Smith in 2010 while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. Smith won the Madden Bowl in 2006 and 2007 and became the fourth player to win twice.

References

External links

ESPN player profileWashington Redskins bioCincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Alex 1982 births Living people American people of Bahamian descent American football tight ends Stanford Cardinal football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New England Patriots players Philadelphia Eagles players Cleveland Browns players Cincinnati Bengals players New Orleans Saints players Washington Redskins players