Chris Smith, who played 8 seasons in NFL, dies at 31, agent confirms

The defensive end returned to the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 after a 2019 crash killed his girlfriend.

Former NFL defensive end Chris Smith has died, the Cleveland Browns and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, announced Tuesday. Smith was 31.

Smith was a member of the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons this season.

“Chris was one of the kindest people, teammates and friends we’ve had in the organization,” the Browns said in their statement.

Browns tight end David Njoku tweeted, “Hometown hero and a brother to everyone. Such a kind soul. This is Heartbreaking.”

Smith spent eight seasons in the league, also playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans. He finished with 11 career sacks.

Smith started two games with the Browns during the 2018 season. During the 2019 season, Smith’s girlfriend was struck and killed by a driver in a traffic accident. She was a passenger in Smith’s car and exited the vehicle after it had a tire malfunction and hit the median. The two had just had a daughter together.

Smith made a comeback and returned to the NFL in 2020, playing eight games with the Raiders.

He played in college at Arkansas. Before that, he was a standout high school athlete at West Rowan High School just outside of Salisbury, North Carolina.

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AFC North standings: Division reaches historic mark with Ravens, Steelers, Browns, Bengals all in playoff spots

Coming into 2023, the AFC North appeared to be as tough as any division in the NFL. Turns out, it just might be historically great.

Expectations were lofty for each team. The Bengals had gone to back-to-back AFC title games. The Ravens were bringing back Lamar Jackson and a dynamic defense. The Browns came in with a standout offensive line and maybe the best defense in the NFL. The Steelers always have some magic with Mike Tomlin and a defense led by T.J. Watt.

In Week 9, every team played. Every team won. The Steelers out-lasted the Titans. The Ravens bludgeoned the Seahawks. The Browns shutout the Cardinals. The Bengals topped the Bills.

MORE: How Bills’, Dolphins’ losses impact AFC East standings

Just like that, every team won and continued to further their positions in the AFC playoff race. How is the division looking through the first nine weeks? Here’s what you need to know.

AFC North standings

The Ravens have pushed themselves out to an early lead in the division. All other teams come in tied for second, though ordered Steelers, Browns, Bengals based on the league’s various tiebreakers.

It’s not just an impressive start for the division: it’s also historic. According to The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., this is the first time since 2002, when the divisions were realigned into four in each conference, that there were four teams in a single division two games above .500 or more after Week 9. There have only been three times when all four teams were at least a game above .500, which came in the 2008 NFC East, 2014 AFC North and 2021 AFC North.

Should the season end Sunday night, all four AFC North teams would be in the playoffs. The Ravens would be the No. 2 seed and face the seventh-seeded Bengals, the Steelers would be the No. 5 seed and face the Dolphins and the Browns would be the No. 6 seed and face the Jaguars.

Of course, the season still has a long way to go, and there is still plenty of matchups within the division left to be played out. Through the first nine weeks, the Ravens and Steelers undoubtedly have to be feeling the most comfortable. Baltimore has road division wins against Cleveland and Cincinnati. Pittsburgh has home division wins against Baltimore and Cleveland. Cleveland has just the lone division win against the Bengals, while Cincinnati is without an AFC North win in two divisional games.

Sporting News’ projection model, prior to the Jets-Chargers game, currently projects all four teams as winding up in the playoffs. The Bengals, Browns and Steelers currently have the the top AFC playoff odds, with the Steelers coming in at 47.1 percent, just ahead of the Bills (46.2 percent) and Jets (45.8 percent).

Even in the model, however, the Ravens have clearly established themselves ahead of the rest of the fray. Only the Eagles (25 percent) and Chiefs (24.5 percent) have higher odds to win the Super Bowl than Baltimore’s 24.5 percent.