Brad Smelley (born April 20, 1989) 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 was drafted by the

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 ( ...

. He played college football at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. He also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

and

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

College career

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 ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, where he started at

and won two NCAA National Championships. In his career, he had 54 receptions for 559 yards and four touchdowns.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Smelley was drafted by the

in the 7th Round, 247 overall in the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. Brad was let go from the

on August 31, 2012 and signed to the practice squad. On December 10, 2012, Smelley was signed to the Cleveland Browns active roster. On September 1, 2013, Smelley was cut by the Cleveland Browns and became a free agent.

St. Louis Rams (first stint)

Smelley was signed to the St. Louis Rams practice squad in November, but was released three days later in favor of

Justice Cunningham Justice Cunningham (born January 14, 1991) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at South Carolina. In the 2013 NFL Draft, he was the 254th and last player to be drafted, making Cunningham the year's Mr. Irrelevant ...

Houston Texans

On December 3, 2013, Smelley signed with the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

. The Texans promoted him to the active roster on December 13 but was later released by the team.

St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (second stint)

Smelley was signed by the St. Louis Rams on August 11, 2014 to fill the void left by Mason Brodine after he was placed on injured reserve. He was released during final cuts on August 29, 2014. He was signed to the Rams practice squad on September 3, 2014. On January 6, 2016, Smelley signed a

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

with the Rams.

References

External links

* * 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama American football tight ends Alabama Crimson Tide football players Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players St. Louis Rams players {{tightend-1980s-stub