Tanzel Etric Smart Jr. (born November 6, 1994) is an

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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

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

of the National Football League (NFL). 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 ...

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, and was drafted by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

in the sixth round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

College career

Smart attended and played

for

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Smart was drafted in the sixth round with the 189th overall pick by the

in the

. On May 15, 2020, Smart was released by the Rams.

Buffalo Bills

On August 16, 2020, Smart signed with 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. ...

. He was waived on September 5, 2020.

Cleveland Browns

On September 11, 2020, Smart was signed to 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

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 was released by the Browns on September 22, 2020.

New York Jets

On October 14, 2020, Smart was signed to the

' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 9 and December 19 for the team's weeks 9 and 15 games against 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 ...

and Rams, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on January 2, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Smart was waived by the Jets and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Jets on January 10, 2022. On August 30, 2022, Smart was waived by the Jets and signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Smart was released by the Jets and re-signed to the practice squad. On October 31, Smart was signed to the Jets' active roster. He was waived on November 13, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. Smart was signed to the active roster on November 18, but released two days later and re-signed back with the practice squad. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the Jets on January 9, 2024.

References

External links

Tulane Green Wave bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smart, Tanzel 1994 births Living people American football defensive tackles Players of American football from Baton Rouge, Louisiana American football defensive ends Tulane Green Wave football players Los Angeles Rams players Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players New York Jets players