With Drew Brees still on the roster, the Saints don’t have any need for the quarterback named Alex Smith but injuries at tight end led them to sign a player with the same name on Friday.
The NFL’s daily transactions report brings word that they have signed journeyman tight end Alex Smith. The team waived/injured tight end Jack Tabb after he was carted off the field during Thursday’s practice with an apparent knee injury.
The Saints have also been without Josh Hill and Kevin Brock recently as they recover from injuries, which left the team in need of a healthy body to go with Ben Watson and Orson Charles.
Smith spent the last two seasons with the Bengals, but only played in two games last year before hitting injured reserve with a biceps injury. He had three catches for 12 yards and a touchdown in 2013 and has also played for the Browns, Eagles and Buccaneers since entering the league as a third-round pick by Tampa in the 2005 draft.
That’s the same draft that saw his namesake go first overall to the 49ers, which is a bit of information that has no bearing on the Saints’ season. Smith, Brock and Charles were also all teammates on the Bengals at one time, in case that didn’t whet your Friday afternoon appetite for Alex Smith trivia.