The Houston Texans signed the tight end of the free agent Irv Smith Jr., the The NFL team has announced Monday.
A former star of Alabama, Smith finished the 2024 NFL season with the Texans.
Released at the end of the pre-season last year by the Kansas City chiefs, Smith joined the Houston training team. He has played in the last five games of the regular season – the first two as an elevation of the Squad of practice – and the two games in playoffs for the Texans.
Smith did not have reception in the regular season, but caught a pass of 2 yards in a 23-14 defeat against Kansas City in the second round of the AFC qualifiers. Smith managed 123 offensive snaps and 19 special teams in seven games with Houston.
The three tight ends that had regular season receptions in 2024 for the Texans remain with Houston. For the Texans last season, Dalton Schultz had 53 receptions for 532 yards and two affected, Cade Stover had 15 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown and Brevin Jordan had two receptions for 7 yards in two games.
The conditions of the Smith contract were not disclosed.
A choice of second round of the Vikings of Minnesota in the draft of the 2019 NFL, Smith had 66 receptions for 676 yards and seven affected in 29 games during his first two seasons of the NFL. Since he missed the 2021 campaign due to a torn meniscus, Smith has 43 receptions for 297 yards and three affected in 27 games. He played for the Vikings in 2022 and the Bengals of Cincinnati in 2023.
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Mark Inbainett is a sports journalist for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on x to @Ammarkg1.