The NFL world was met with sad news on Monday when Chris Smith's death was announced. The former defensive lineman was only 31 years old. He received an outpouring of love from his former teammates, including Derek Carr, with whom he played on the Las Vegas Raiders.

Carr shared a simple message in regard to Smith's death: “Love you bro.” Several other players sent condolences following the news of Smith's passing. “Rest in paradise Chris Smith. Hometown hero and a brother to everyone. Such a kind soul. This is Heartbreaking,” said Browns tight end David Njoku.

Chris Smith was drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Arkansas product played for the Jaguars for three years before spending a season with the Cincinnati Bengals, two with the Cleveland Browns, one with the Raiders and one with the Houston Texans. He signed with the Carolina Panthers but was released just months later, leading to his stint with the Raiders. He signed with the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons just over a month ago.

During his time with the Browns, Smith showed incredible emotional strength by playing shortly after the death of his girlfriend, who was hit by a car. He fought off severe mental anguish to get back to the field and took steps to help improve hazard lights to help others avoid what happened to his girlfriend, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic.

“It was a long journey to that,” Smith said at the time, via The Athletic. “But I just thank God for the opportunity to show what I could do. Just to show the world that I could still play this game. That was definitely a question after the tragedy with my girlfriend happened.”

No cause of death for Smith has been reported at this time.