The Carolina Panthers are signing defensive lineman Chris Smith to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Smith, who played his collegiate football at the University of Arkansas, was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round (159th pick overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.
He played in seven games during his rookie campaign, logging five tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. His role remained limited in 2015, as he appeared in six contests and finished with 10 tackles and a half of a sack, and in 2016, he participated in six games and recorded four tackles and a sack.
That ensuing offseason, the Jaguars traded Smith to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Smith spent one season with the Bengals, but in the one year he resided in Cincinnati, he had his most productive campaign to date, posting 26 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble.
The 28-year-old's success with the Bengals led to a three-year contract with the Cleveland Browns in March 2018. He tallied 21 tackles and a sack in 16 games during his first season with the Browns, but this past year, tragedy struck Smith when the mother of one of his children was killed after being hit by a car in September.
He played in just nine games in Cleveland in 2019, registering one tackle.
The Panthers went 5-11 and missed the playoffs this past season, losing nine of their last 10 games. Carolina has failed to qualify for the postseason in each of the last couple of years and has a lot of tough decisions to make this offseason.
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