Taj Smith

Taj Smith
No. 10, 88
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1983-09-30) September 30, 1983 (age 41)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High school:Weequahic (NJ)
College:Syracuse
Undrafted:2008
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Stats at CFL.ca (archive)

Tajiddin M. Smith-Wilson (born September 30, 1983) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) and the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Syracuse and Bakersfield Community College.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

In his first 2008 preseason game with the Green Bay Packers, Smith caught two passes for 23 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was waived by the team during final cuts on August 30.

Indianapolis Colts

Smith was signed to the practice squad of the Indianapolis Colts on September 25, 2008. He was released on December 3, but re-signed on December 8. After finishing the season on the practice squad, Smith was re-signed to a future contract on January 5, 2009. He spent the 2009 season on the practice squad, and was re-signed to a future contract on February 11, 2010. Taj Smith was cut on the Indianapolis Colts roster cut down day and was a free agent. He was later re-signed to add depth to Indianapolis's depleted receiver corps. On December 5, in a game against the Dallas Cowboys Smith blocked a punt and recovered it in the endzone, tying the game for the Colts. Played in all 4 preseason games in 2011. He finished with 12 catches, 210 yards and 2TD and in the last preseason game he ended well with 8 catches, 140 yards, and the game winning Touchdown.

On September 3, 2011, Smith was waived by the Colts.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Smith signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL on January 30, 2012. In his first year in the CFL he spent the first four weeks on the practice roster and missed 1 game due to injury. Smith would go on to start 13 regular season games and the West Semi-Final at the wide receiver position. He finished with 47 catches for 690 yards and 2 touchdowns. Smith also played special teams adding 3 tackles, and had 4 catches for 81 yards in the playoffs.[1]

In his second season in the CFL Smith became a more significant element of the Roughriders offense. Smith played in 17 of the 18 regular season games and totaled 1,007 receiving yards (7th most in the league) on 78 passes with 7 touchdowns. He added 191 receiving yards in 3 playoff games, and the Roughriders went on to win the 101st Grey Cup. On January 16, 2014, Smith signed a new contract with the Roughriders, he was to become a free-agent in February 2014 if he was not signed.[2]

CFL statistics

Receiving   Regular season   Playoffs
Year Team Games No. Yards Avg Long TD Games No. Yards Avg Long TD
2012 SSK 13 47 690 14.7 74 2 1 4 81 20.3 40 0
2013 SSK 17 78 1,007 12.9 70 7 3 12 191 15.9 53 0
2014 SSK 12 29 397 13.7 59 3
2015 SSK 4 8 94 11.8 36 1
CFL totals 46 162 2,188 13.5 74 13 4 16 272 17.0 53 0

References

  1. ^ "Riders add pair of receivers, release two others". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  2. ^ "Riders, Taj Smith come to terms on contract extension". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2017.