Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end and current free agent Dawuane Smoot visited the Houston Texans on Wednesday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.
The trip marks the first reported activity for Smoot this offseason, after hitting the free agency market in March.
A 2017 third-round selection out of Illinois, Smooth spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career in Jacksonville, appearing in 99 games and making 17 starts in that span.
After making rather minimal impact the first two seasons, Smoot went on to post five-plus sacks in four consecutive seasons from a depth and spot-starting role. He accumulated single-season career-highs of 36 tackles and seven tackles for loss in 2021, tying his single-season career-high of six sacks that year.
Smoot re-signed with Jacksonville on a one-year contract just before training camp last offseason after spending four months as a free agent, amid his recovery from a torn Achilles suffered in Week 16 of the 2022 campaign.
The injury limited Smoot to 12 games in 2023. He posted 10 tackles and a sack with those opportunities last season.
Smoot is not the only depth edge rusher Jacksonville allowed to hit free agency this offseason as its second 2019 first-round selection, K’Lavon Chaisson, signed with Carolina in March. The Jaguars added free agent former Tennessee edge rusher Trevis Gipson two days after Chaisson joined the Panthers.
