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Saints sign tight end Alex Smith

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. -- The New Orleans Saints signed veteran tight end Alex Smith on Friday to replace injured rookie Jack Tabb.

Smith, 33, played football at Stanford and was a third-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2005. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals last season.

Tabb suffered what appeared to be a knee injury during team work in practice on Thursday. He left the field on a motorized cart.
If Tabb clears waivers, which is likely, he would be placed on the Saints' injured reserve list.

Tabb, who played at North Carolina, signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in May.

Smith was a starter in his first four seasons with Tampa and has bounced around the league as a reserve since then, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles (2009), Cleveland Browns (2010-2012) and Bengals (2013-2014).

The Saints have been battered by injuries at tight end. In addition to Tabb, Josh Hill and Kevin Brock have missed time. The two remaining tight ends, Ben Watson and Orson Charles, got plenty of reps in Friday's scrimmage.


New Orleans Saints sign tight end Alex Smith, waive injured rookie Jack Tabb | NOLA.com

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins