D’Anthony Smith Traded to Seahawks Hours Before Roster Deadline
Sep 9, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle D
Most teams used Friday night and Saturday afternoon to figure out the best way to trim their rosters down to 53 men before the roster deadline Saturday night. While the Seahawks pondered their cuts, they also pulled a quick trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars in an attempt to bolster an already intimidating defensive line.
On Saturday afternoon, just before the NFL’s roster deadline, the Seahawks announced that they had traded for defensive tackle D’Anthony Smith via this tweet:
Seahawks trade an undisclosed future draft choice to @Jaguars for DT D’Anthony Smith, pending physical.
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 31, 2013
Smith, a fourth-year player out of Louisiana Tech, only has ten career tackles in the NFL, but that is due to a number of injuries he has sustained already in a young career. He missed his entire rookie campaign because of a torn Achilles tendon then missed his second pro season with a foot injury. Last season, his third year in the NFL, he played in eight games — starting two of them — before ending up on the injured reserve for the third time in as many years, this time because of a neck injury, according to Big Cat Country.
At Louisiana Tech, Smith had 197 total tackles (72 solo) and 12.5 sacks during a four-year career in the Western Athletic Conference. In 2008, he made First-Team All-WAC. When he became eligible for the draft, NFL.com had this to say:
"Smith has a good combination of size and athleticism for an interior defender. He shows excellent initial quickness to penetrate the line and is most disruptive when in a stunting mode. Smith can improve his ability in base schemes with better pad level and consistent effort. He has good strength but only flashes ability to hold the point versus the run. He needs improved hand use to expand his pass rush package as well as leverage blockers better versus the run. Smith is a talented player that has upside to build on as an interior lineman in a 4-3 defensive scheme."
Smith was a third-round pick in the 2010 draft, courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is listed at 6’2″ and 300 pounds. In his NFL combine profile, his arm length is listed at 32 3/8 inches.
He will join Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane, Chris Clemons, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Jordan Hill and Tony McDaniel on the defensive line as the Seahawks prepare for their season opener against the Carolina Panthers on September 8.