Eric Smith (born March 17, 1983) 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 wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

for the New York Jets. He was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

. He played college football at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Professional career

Smith was selected in the third round with the 97th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. Smith had been rising on many draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft as he was praised for his instincts and physicality on the field. The Jets signed Smith to a contract on July 21, 2006. Smith recorded 27 tackles in 15 games during his rookie season. He also added two interceptions, recording his first against former

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 (A ...

quarterback

Charlie Frye Charles Thomas Frye (born August 28, 1981) is a former American football quarterback and former quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the ...

. In 15 games in 2007, Smith recorded 40 tackles and 5 passes defensed. On September 28, 2008, Smith was fined $50,000 and suspended one game because of a helmet-to-helmet collision with Anquan Boldin of the Arizona Cardinals, which caused Boldin to be hospitalized. Smith finished the season with 32 tackles, 4 passes defensed and an interception. Smith was primarily utilized as a back up defender and on special teams in 2009. In 16 games, he recorded a career high 48 tackles, 6 pass defensed and an interception. In the team's week two matchup against the New England Patriots in 2010, Smith delivered a hit to wide receiver

Wes Welker Wesley Carter Welker (born May 1, 1981) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the San ...

and was flagged for hitting a defenseless receiver. Smith apologized to Welker during the game, which Welker accepted, and was later fined $7,500 by the league. He was a special teams captain in 2010. Smith re-signed with Jets on July 30, 2011, to a three-year deal worth $7.5 million. He was a special teams captain in 2011. Smith suffered a

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist outwar ...

(MCL) injury on his left knee during the August 10, 2012, preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. An

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

came back negative. Smith was eventually knocked out for the entire 2012 season. He was released from the Jets on February 19, 2013.

Coaching career

Smith was hired by the New York Jets on February 10, 2014 as a seasonal intern coach. Smith was hired by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

to be the assistant special teams coach on January 15, 2015. He served two seasons in Buffalo on Rex Ryan's staff before being dismissed by new coach

Sean McDermott Sean Michael McDermott (born March 21, 1974) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001, ...

Lawsuit Against NFL

In February of 2023, Smith and nine other former players filed a lawsuit against the NFL disability board in United States Federal Court, stating they had been unfairly denied disability claims. Smith stated that he had suffered thirteen documented traumatic brain injuries and had been denied disability compensation for his “head, neck, and lumbar spine impairments” and “marked decreased shoulder range of motion, rotator cuff weakness, and moderate to severe shoulder arthritis".Morse, Ben (February 9, 2023
10 former NFL players sue league’s disability program, alleging board ‘engaged in repeated and substantial derelictions of their responsibilities’
''CNN.com''.

References

External links

New York Jets bioBuffalo Bills bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Eric 1983 births Living people Buffalo Bills coaches American football safeties Michigan State Spartans football players New York Jets coaches New York Jets players Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio