Antonio Smith

Antonio DeShonta Smith (born October 21, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He also played for the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, and the Houston Texans in the NFL and for the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe. Smith won Super Bowl 50 as a member of the Broncos.

College career Smith played college football at Oklahoma State. He was an honorable mention All-Big 12 in his junior season at Oklahoma State. Antonio played for NEO A&M College in Miami, Oklahoma during his freshman (2000) and sophomore (2001) season. He transferred to Oklahoma State for his junior (2002) and senior (2003) seasons.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals Smith was drafted in the fifth round with the 135th overall selection in the 2004 NFL draft. Following his rookie season, he played in the developmental NFL Europe as a member of the 2005 Hamburg Sea Devils.

During the 2008 NFL season, Smith played in every game and had 2 forced fumbles and 3.5 sacks. Smith helped the Cardinals reach Super Bowl XLIII, but the team would lose 27–23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite a great performance during the course of the season, the Cardinals chose not to re-sign him and let him go into free agency.

Houston Texans (first stint) Smith was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Houston Texans to replace the released Anthony Weaver.

In 2011, Smith went to his first career Pro Bowl, replacing the New England Patriots' Andre Carter who was unable to play due to injury.

In 2013, Smith was suspended for week one after an incident in the preseason in which he removed Miami Dolphins lineman Richie Incognito's helmet and swung it at him. On November 29, 2013, he was fined $15,750 for hitting Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback Chad Henne in the head and neck region.

Oakland Raiders On March 14, 2014, Smith signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Oakland Raiders and played defensive tackle in the Raiders base 4-3 defense. He was released by the Raiders on March 31, 2015.

Denver Broncos On April 2, 2015, Smith signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Denver Broncos.

On February 7, 2016, Smith was part of the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.

Houston Texans (second stint) After initially deciding to retire following the Super Bowl victory, Smith was contacted by his former team, the Houston Texans, and decided to return for one more season. On September 28, 2016, Smith was signed by the Texans. After the season, he would retire for good.

NFL statistics Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD 2005 ARI 12 16 16 0 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2006 ARI 16 25 14 11 2.5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2007 ARI 16 43 37 6 5.5 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2008 ARI 16 41 31 10 3.5 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2009 HOU 16 34 26 8 4.5 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2010 HOU 16 38 23 15 4.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2011 HOU 16 25 19 6 6.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2012 HOU 16 30 22 8 7.0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2013 HOU 15 30 22 8 5.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2014 OAK 16 20 18 2 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2015 DEN 16 9 7 2 2.5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2016 HOU 13 4 3 1 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Career 186 315 238 77 47.5 11 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 10

Personal life Smith has three children, Antonio Smith Jr. (2003), Winter Smith (2009) and Marty Smith (2014).

Smith, along with his sister Antwonette, founded Smith's Little People With Big Challenges Foundation. The organization's mission is to fight childhood obesity.

Smith's father died 4 days before Super Bowl 50, due to heart surgery complications. Antonio Smith shares his knowledge and talent by volunteering his time as a defensive line coach for the Christian Heritage high school football team (Del City, OK). The team played in 2018 Oklahoma state class A champion state final.

Following his retirement, Smith returned to his native Oklahoma and became a rancher, raising rabbits, horses, and cattle.