Former NFL defensive lineman Chris Smith died Monday at the age of 31, his alma mater, West Rowan High School, announced in a tweet.
Smith's cause of death is not yet known.
A native of Salisbury, North Carolina, Smith played eight seasons in the league after being selected out of Arkansas by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He totaled 80 tackles and 11 sacks in 72 games played for Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Las Vegas and Houston. The DL also had short stints in Carolina and Baltimore. Smith spent the 2022 season out of the NFL and was most recently signed by the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Browns DE Chris Smith," the Browns said in a statement on Tuesday. "Chris was one of the kindest people, teammates and friends we've had in our organization. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time."
The Jaguars added that they were "saddened" to learn of Smith's passing.
A number of notable NFL players took to Twitter to mourn Smith's passing, including former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, Browns tight end David Njoku and agent Drew Rosenhaus.
