As the Las Vegas Raiders move forward following the firings of head coach Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi and general manager Dave Ziegler, they’ve added a new piece to their defense.
According to his agent, Doug Hendrickson of Wasserman, the Raiders have signed linebacker Jaylon Smith to their active roster from the New Orleans Saints practice squad.
A five-star prospect coming out of high school, Smith enjoyed an All-American college career at Notre Dame, but suffered a torn ACL and LCL in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, which proved to be his final game with the Fighting Irish. The Dallas Cowboys selected the Fort Wayne, Indiana, native in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft and he went on to spend parts of five seasons with the franchise, earning Pro Bowl honors in 2019.
Midway through the 2021 campaign, the Cowboys released Smith, who went on to finish the season with the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants. After tallying 88 tackles and one sack in 13 games with the Giants in 2022, the 28-year-old signed with the Saints and joined the team’s practice squad after being released ahead of the 2023 season.
In arriving in Las Vegas, Smith will join a Raiders defense that currently ranks 19th in yards allowed per game (337.6) and 22nd in scoring (23.4). At 3-5 on the season, Las Vegas will return to action on Sunday when it hosts the 2-6 New York Giants.
