Patriots Cut Former Ohio State Wide Receiver Before Camp

Former Ohio State star Devin Smith has had trouble catching on in the NFL. After three seasons with the New York Jets, he’s bounced around to three other teams, and just got cut by the New England Patriots as they get set for training camp.

Smith signed with the Pats practice squad at the end of last season. In January, he signed a reserve/future contract with the team, in hopes of making the roster this summer.

According to Jim McBride of The Boston Globe, he has been released. It is one of two losses for the Patriots receiving corps, as tight end Devin Asiasi, who has been vaccinated against COVID-19, came down with a breakthrough case of the virus.

Smith last appeared in an NFL game in 2019, with the Dallas Cowboys. In four appearances that season, he caught five of his nine targets for 113 yards and a touchdown.

Devin Smith was taken No. 37 overall by the Jets back in 2015. He struggled to make a big impact, but did have his most productive season to date as a rookie, with nine catches on 28 targets, for 115 yards and a touchdown. His season ended in December with a torn ACL.

The following year, he made just one catch for 20 yards in four appearances for the Jets. He began that season on the PUP list, as he rehabbed a knee injury suffered late in the previous season. He’d suffer another torn ACL in April 2017, and was placed on the injured reserve, which cost him all of 2017. He was waived during the summer of 2018, and didn’t catch on with a team until the Cowboys signed him. Smith appeared on the practice squad with the Texans in 2020, before landing with the New England Patriots.

Smith was a big-play threat at Ohio State, but injuries have really derailed him at the NFL level. We’ll see if he gets another shot moving forward.

[The Boston Globe]

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