Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Chiefs' Haley keeping eye on Bills' Smith

Brad Smith might have slipped from one AFC East team to the next, but coaches outside the division still have him in their sights.

Smith, a fourth-round pick who spent his last five years as a New York Jet, signed a multi-year contract with the Buffalo Bills this offseason after becoming a free agent. The Jets had to make a bundle of critical decisions on who to keep or re-sign and who to let go, and Smith was one who got away.
Smith

The all-purpose standout, who returned two kicks for touchdowns, rushed for 299 yards and a score and passed for a touchdown last season, will make his first appearance in Bills digs when Buffalo travels to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I think the addition of Brad Smith, who you can list anywhere on the depth chart, a guy that I went over to Missouri and worked out one-on-one when he was coming out and really liked the player,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley told the media Wednesday. “I think that’s a great addition for them. He gives them great versatility — he can run with it, he can throw it. He can catch it and return it.”

Smith hasn’t caught a touchdown pass since 2007 (he caught his only two that season), but he also didn’t have much opportunity behind a stacked wide receiving corps in New York.

He joins a Bills team that is already rich in multi-role players.

“They’ve got a bevy of returners that all can hurt you,” Haley said. “(C.J.) Spiller, (Roscoe) Parrish and Brad Smith (are guys) you can’t lose sight of. They’ve got a lot of weapons.”