Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots , we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.
Today, we're reintroduced to offensive tackle D'Ante Smith. Injuries have been a part of Smith's football career going back to his first year in college, but while he managed to stay healthy last season, he never saw the field for the Bengals. Figuring out a path back to the roster is more important now as he enters the last year of his rookie contract.
D'Ante Smith
- Age: 26
- Year: 4th
- Position: Offensive tackle
- College: East Carolina
- Previous Teams: None
- Jersey Number: 75
Smith was drafted by the Bengals with the 139th overall pick in the fourth round of rhe 2021 NFL Draft. He spent five years at East Carolina and started five games his sophomore year after appearing in just one game as a freshman and suffering a season-ending injury. He emerged as the Pirates' starting left tackle in 2018, playing a career-high 973 snaps, and kept his starting job through 2019 as well. Consistency was ripe in Smith's game as he produced pass blocking efficiency scores of 97.3 and 97.1 in each year and was penalized seven times each year as well. His freshman year injury granted him one more year of eligibility in 2020, but he would suffer another season-ending injury that also ended his college career. Quarantining for COVID-19 on three separate occasions also had Smith playing that final game at just 283 pounds.
The Bengals made Smith the second of three offensive line they drafted in 2021, and it was looking like he would be the lone rookie starter of the trio. Cincinnati had a major hole at right guard, and while fellow rookie Jackson Carman wasn't impressing in the competition, Smith starting taking reps there before a preseason injury ruined his chances of starting Week 1. He would suffer another injury during the season and spent eight weeks on Injured Reserve. He finally made his debut in Week 15 off the bench, and started his first game in Week 18 at left tackle.
Smith rode the bench during the 2022 regular season outside of appearing in one game, but played in all three postseason contests due to injuries to the starting o-line. He filled in at left tackle for a combined nine snaps during the playoffs. He would stay on the team for the 2023 season, but was a healthy scratch for half the year, and never played a snap in the games he was active.
Contract details
Smith is in the last year year of his four-year, $3,979,344 rookie contract. He will earn a base salary of $1,055,000 for the 2024 season.
When adding on the $499,344 signing bonus that's been prorated throughout the entirety of his deal, Smith's cap hit for the season will be $1,179,836..
Roster chances
It's tough to gauge where Smith is on the current depth chart now. When Amarius Mims left practice earlier this week with Trent Brown already out, Jackson Carman and then Cody Ford filled in at right tackle. Smith has primarily been a left tackle in his career, but Carman and Ford have both played that spot more recently in game compared to him. Mims is likely to be the swing tackle on game days if he's not starting over Brown anyways.
If there's a guy just on the outside looking in at tackle, it's probably Smith. Not playing for a whole year doesn't help him, and neither do two new additions at tackle who will make the team.
We'll see if preseason injuries impact the picture at o-line, but these could be the last days for Smith in Cincinnati outside of him accepting a practice squad invite.
Chances of making the roster: 20%
Previous player breakdowns
Related: Bengals Roster Breakdown: Trey Hill looks to round out Cincinnati's offensive line one more time
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