Tag: Lecitus Smith

Eagles officially announce the signing of 20 players to Reserve/Futures deals

The Philadelphia Eagles officially announced the signing 20 players to reserve/futures deals ahead of the 2024 NFL offseason and free agency

The Eagles are looking towards significant changes at every level of the organization after a 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in the wild-card round.

Owner Jeffrey Lurie will likely keep head coach Nick Sirianni.

A Wednesday press conference will be centered around the offensive and defensive coordinators and a roster severely in flux.

All eyes in Philadelphia will now turn towards the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis before the official start of the new league year and the free agent bonanza.

Philadelphia currently has 20 pending free agents and 38 players on the roster under contract, and these 20 players just signed reserve/futures deals courtesy of the team’s official website.

Eagles sign 20 players to Reserve/Futures deals

The Philadelphia Eagles signed 20 players to reserve/futures deals ahead of the 2024 NFL offseason and free agency

The Eagles are out of the playoffs and looking towards significant changes at every level of the organization after a 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in the wild-card round.

Owner Jeffrey Lurie will likely keep head coach Nick Sirianni.

Still, Friday discussions and decisions will be centered around the offensive and defensive coordinators and a roster severely in flux.

All eyes in Philadelphia will now turn towards the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis before the official start of the new league year and the free agent bonanza.

Philadelphia currently has 20 pending free agents and 38 players on the roster under contract, and these 20 players just signed reserve/futures deals courtesy of NFL Communications.

Cardinals training camp roster preview: OL Lecitus Smith

We take a look at second-year OL Lecitus Smith and his chances of making the final roster for the Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals open training camp at the end of this month, so we will do a roster review, highlighting each player currently on the roster, going over last season, their salary and cap number, questions they face and what their expected roster status will be.

Next up is OL Lecitus Smith.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

PODCAST: Cardinals OL Lecitus Smith talks rookie season, Kyler Murray, offseason goals

Cardinals OL Lecitus Smith joins Jess Root on the latest edition of the podcast to talk about last season and the offseason.

We have a new podcast episode with a special guest. Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Lecitus Smith, coming off his rookie season after being drafted in the sixth round, spoke with me about last season and things moving forward.

He talks about his rookie season, what he learned, how he thinks he did in his first start. He also delves into the experience of all the losses to end the season.

He gives us insight into Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray and going through a coaching change.

Finally, he talks about what his goals are for the offseason and how he wants to prove he can be a starter in his second season.

Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!

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54 days till the Cardinals’ 2022 season opener vs. Chiefs

Check out many of the players to wear No. 54 over the years for the Arizona Cardinals.

With one week from the Arizona Cardinals veteran players reporting for training camp, we are now 54 days from the start of the regular season. In 54 days, the Cardinals will play their regular-season opener at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rookie offensive lineman Lecitus Smith, drafted in the sixth round this year out of Virginia Tech, is the player on the roster wearing No. 54 currently. See him and other who have worn No. 54 before him over the years below.

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Lecitus Smith could be Cardinals rookie to have surprising impact

Most would expect Trey McBride, Cameron Thomas and even Myjai Sanders to have some impact in 2022. Smith might surprise.

The Arizona Cardinals selected eight players in the 2022 NFL draft this year. They don’t expect all to make much of an impact as rookies.

They likely expect something from their first three picks — tight end Trey McBride and linebackers Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders.

However, depending on how things play out on the offensive line, it might be a sixth-round pick who has a surprisingly big impact in 2022.

That could be offensive lineman Lecitus Smith.

When he was drafted, he figured to be someone who would have to battle just to make the roster, but with center Rodney Hudson currently absent from the team, Smith could become important.

He has worked this offseason at center. And while he probably would not be Plan A at center if Hudson does not return, if Justin Pugh slides over from left guard to play center, guard opens up.

Justin Murray would likely be the starter but Smith could end up being in play.

The team’s vice president of player personnel, Quentin Harris, believes that Smith is the one Day 3 pick they drafted who could be a Pro Bowler. If Pugh ended up as the starting center and Smith, whether due to injury or competition, had the opportunity to start, he might not let that job go.

And if he were to start, he would play more than any other rookie on the team.

This isn’t a prediction, but of all the draft picks who could have a surprising impact, it would be Smith.

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Cardinals OL Lecitus Smith’s salary, contract details and salary cap implications

Lecitus Smith, drafted in the sixth round, gets a four-year contract worth more than $3.79 million total.

The Arizona Cardinals have signed seven of their eight player selections from the 2022 NFL draft last month. The first three were running back Keaontay Ingram, offensive lineman Lecitus Smith and linebacker Jesse Luketa.

Ingram and Smith were selected in the sixth round and Luketa was one of the Cardinals’ three seventh-round picks.

We know the details of their four-year rookie contracts, as the key numbers were shared by SI.com’s Howard Balzer.

Lecitus Smith’s salary, contract details

Smith’s contract is four years and worth a total of more than $3.79 million.

He receives a signing bonus of $132,012 and his salary each year will be the league minimum. In 2022, that will be $705,000 and it increases to $870,000 in 2023, $985,000 in 2024 and $1.1 million in 2025.

Salary cap implications

Smith’s signing bonus is charged equally over the four years of the deal and that prorated number is added to the salary to create his cap hit each year.

So Smith’s cap hit each year is as follows:

  • 2022: $738,003
  • 2023: $903,003
  • 2024: $1.02 million
  • 2025: $1.13 million

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Cardinals giving rookie OL Lecitus Smith look at center

Smith, one of the Cardinals’ 5 Day 3 draft picks, played left guard in college but got reps at center in rookie minicamp.

The Arizona Cardinals know who their starting center is — Rodney Hudson. What is unclear still is who will be the backup center this coming season.

As of right now, it is Sean Harlow, who started games at left guard and at center last season. However, Harlow is undersized at 6-4 and 284 lbs. That is more the size of a big tight end than an offensive lineman.

They brought in Billy Price for a visit but nothing has come of that yet.

The Cardinals are looking at one of their draft picks as perhaps an option to back up Hudson.

Sixth-round pick Lecitus Smith played left guard in college at Virginia Tech.

He took reps at center in rookie minicamp this past weekend, as shown in a brief moment of the team’s video of rookie tight end Trey McBride being mic’d up.

Smith is 6-3 and 314 lbs. Since acquiring Hudson, the Cardinals seemingly have wanted size and strength at center. That’s why Max Garcia was Hudson’s backup.

Quentin Harris, the team’s vice president for player personnel, believes that Smith is the one player among their five Day 3 draft picks, who has the chance to become a Pro Bowl player.

Now, it is common for the Cardinals to give young offensive linemen work at a new position, creating positional flexibility, which is a must for their reserve linemen.

This is something to pay attention to later on this offseason. When OTAs and minicamp come around, reporters aren’t typically allowed to speak on positions and rotations, but that changes in training camp.

The longer the Cardinals go without adding a veteran backup center, the more possible it is they could lean on a sixth-round pick to back up Hudson.

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3 of Cardinals’ Day 3 picks sign rookie deals

Sixth-round picks Keaontay Ingram and Lecitus Smith and seventh-round pick Jessee Luketa all signed their rookie deals.

The Arizona Cardinals announced they signed three of their eight draft picks on Thursday. They signed their two sixth-round picks and one of their seventh-round picks — running back Keaontay Ingram, offensive lineman Lecitus Smith and linebacker Jesse Luketa.

They get four-year contracts. We will learn the details of the deals in the next days and weeks.

Ingram and Smith were drafted in the sixth round. Ingram was the 201st overall pick, drafted out of USC. Smith was pick No. 215, drafted out of Virginia Tech.

Luketa was the 256th selection in the draft and played collegiately at Penn State.

Below are the player bios from the team’s press release:

Ingram (6-0, 221) appeared in 42 games at Texas (2018-20) and USC (2021) and rushed for 2,722 yards and 16 touchdowns on 495 carries while adding 671 yards and six touchdowns on 89 receptions. He ran for 100+ yards in eight games in his college career and had 12 games with 100+ total scrimmage yards. Last year at USC, Ingram was the Trojans leading rusher after setting a career-high with 911 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games, earning All-Pac 12 honorable mention. A Carthage, TX native, Ingram spent his first three seasons in college at Texas and appeared in 32 games (18 starts) and was a two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Smith (luh-SEET-us) (6-3, 314) was a three-year starter at Virginia Tech and played in 45 games (38 starts), including starting in all 37 contests he played in to finish his collegiate career. A two-time All-ACC selection, Smith made 37 starts at left guard and one at left tackle during his career with the Hokies. He started all 11 games in each of the past two seasons, including in 2020 when he helped the Hokies lead the ACC in rushing (240.1 ypg) and run for 27 touchdowns. A Fitzgerald, GA native, Smith was a highly-recruited tight end coming out of high school and transitioned to the offensive line at Virginia Tech. 

Luketa (loo-KETT-uh) (6-3, 253) is an Ottawa, Ontario native who appeared in 46 games (18 starts) at Penn State and had 151 tackles, seven tackles for loss, a half sack, one interception (returned for a TD), eight passes defensed and a fumble recovery. As a senior in 2021, Luketa played in 12 games (eight starts) and earned third-team All-Big Ten honors after finishing the season with 61 tackles (27 solo) and 8.5 tackles for loss. He left Canada and attended high school at Mercyhurst Prep in Erie, PA prior to enrolling at Penn State.

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Cardinals believe rookie OL Lecitus Smith could be future Pro Bowler

The Cardinals’ Vice President of Player Personnel believes Lecitus Smith could be a Pro-Bowl type player for the team.

Every year, there are a handful of players taken on Day 3 of the NFL draft that exceed their pre-draft grades. Some go on to become perennial Pro-Bowlers, leaving teams wondering why they had passed on that player.

Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris recently joined The Dave Pasch Podcast to talk about the recent draft haul for the team. Pasch brought up how, every year, some of those late-round picks turn into stars. He asked Harris who he thinks could become that Pro Bowl player for the Cardinals among their day three selections.

“I really like Lecitus Smith,” Harris said. “This guy is athletic, he’s an excellent puller. He’s tough, he’s physical.”

One of the traits that excites Harris the most is Smith’s quick-footed play style. He talked about how some NFL guards possess all the right traits but are held back from being slow-footed.

“This guy is everything,” he said. “He was a steal, in my opinion. He’s one guy that once he gets his opportunity, it’s going to be tough to remove him from the seat.”

The Cardinals could certainly use hitting on a seventh-round pick, particularly on the offensive line. They have almost their entire offensive line room set to hit the free agent market next season, so getting some young stability up front for Kyler Murray would do wonders.

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