Tajiddin M. Smith-Wilson (born September 30, 1983) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
wide receiver who played for the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) and the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
(CFL). He was signed by the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
in 2008. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
Syracuse
Syracuse most commonly refers to:
* Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse
* Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area
Syracuse may also refer to:
Places
* Syracuse railway station (disambiguation)
Italy
* Provi ...
and
Bakersfield Community College
Bakersfield College (BC) is a public community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 31,000 students each semester or 46,500 annually, and offers associate degrees, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community C ...
.
Professional career
Green Bay Packers
In his first 2008 preseason game with the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
, Smith caught two passes for 23 yards against the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
. He was waived by the team during final cuts on August 30.
Indianapolis Colts
Smith was signed to the
practice squad
In gridiron football, 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. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...
of the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
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
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
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
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...
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.
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
The 101st Grey Cup was a Canadian football game played between the East Division champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the West Division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League to decide the Grey Cup champions of the 2013 ...
. 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.
CFL statistics
References
External links
Saskatchewan Roughriders bioIndianapolis Colts bioSyracuse Orange bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Taj
1983 births
Living people
Players of American football from Newark, New Jersey
Players of Canadian football from Newark, New Jersey
American football wide receivers
Syracuse Orange football players
Green Bay Packers players
Indianapolis Colts players
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
Canadian football wide receivers