'Hard Knocks' Favorite Returns to Jets' Practice Squad, Bumping Emergency Cornerback

Defensive tackle dropped from 53-man roster on Monday, re-joins organization Wednesday

Tanzel Smart is the ultimate survivor. The 29-year-old defensive tackle is back with the New York Jets as a member of the Practice Squad.

After releasing Smart from the 53-man roster on Monday, the team re-signed the veteran to a P-Squad deal on Wednesday. In a corresponding move, the Jets released cornerback Craig James, who was a two-time gameday elevation earlier this season.

Smart, who has spent much of the past 3.5 seasons as a Jets' Practice Squad member, was signed to the active roster for the past two weeks. He totaled 28 defensive snaps and one tackles over a two-game span against the Chargers and the Raiders.

The undersized Smart initially entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. He made 31 regular season appearances for the Rams before the team released him during the 2020 offseason. Subsequently catching on with the Jets, Smart has become a fan favorite despite his reserve status. 

Depicted as a fun and loving underdog by HBO's Hard Knocks documentary series, Smart gained popularity during Episode 3 of 5 this past summer. The 6-foot-1 Smart has totaled eight regular season appearances and nine tackles for the Jets since 2020.

After spending the 2022 season on the Practice Squad, James played in all four preseason games this past August. He landed back on the P-Squad for a third time on October 3 and proved extremely valuable when the Jets were without Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed and Brandin Echols for a short time. 

James, who has 23 career regular season games to his credit, logged 14 snaps (13 ST, 1 DEF) in the Week 5 road win over Denver. He was needed in a greater capacity the following week against Philadelphia. Helping bottle up quarterback Jalen Hurts in a 20-14 victory, James logged 41 defensive snaps. The journeyman defensive back recorded one solo stop and one pass defensed. 

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Jets' Practice Squad (Updated Nov. 15)

CB Kalon Barnes

S Trey Dean

OL Jake Hanson

CB Tae Hayes

DL Jalyn Holmes

TE Zack Kuntz

LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball

WR Lance McCutcheon

OL Xavier Newman

OL Rodger Saffold

QB Trevor Siemian 

DL Tanzel Smart

DL Marquiss Spencer

WR Malik Taylor

RB Xazavian Valladay

DT Perrion Winfrey 

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