Packer Central

Packers Sign Former Draft Pick After Rookie Camp

The Green Bay Packers have signed guard Lecitus Smith, one of the tryout candidates at the rookie minicamp.

Bill Huber

Lecitus Smith
Lecitus Smith / Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have signed guard Lecitus Smith after a successful tryout at the team’s rookie camp on Friday and Saturday, Packer Central has learned.

Smith was a sixth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. He started two games as a rookie but failed to make their roster in 2023.

Last season, he spent a week in November on Houston’s practice squad and the second half of the season on Philadelphia’s practice squad. He did not see any action.

“Just looking back at tape and even just thinking back to how the season went for me, I feel like it went well. I feel like when I was called upon to go out there and play well, I feel like for the most part, I definitely did that," Smith said after his rookie season.

“I showed up and did what I had to do and I did my job. I'm not going to say every single down and every single snap [was great]. I'd be completely biased if I said that. There were times where I got beat when my technique wasn't great and I almost got beat, and I let up a pressure. So, those are all things I look at. I even look at the good too and see how I can be better or try to learn from it. I've definitely watched the tape and evaluated myself. I feel like it was a pretty good season personally for me.”

In 2022, Smith played 210 snaps, with 202 of those at right guard. In three preseason games last year, he played 59 snaps at center, 19 at right guard and six at left guard. So, he’s got some utilityman tools.

The Packers drafted three offensive linemen last week but are short on experienced depth beyond guard Royce Newman and tackle Andre Dillard. Newman has struggled in his three seasons with the Packers and Dillard, a first-round pick by the Eagles, was released by the Titans after one rocky season in Tennessee.

The signing gives the Packers 16 offensive linemen on their roster, including first-round pick Jordan Morgan, fifth-round pick Jacob Monk and sixth-round pick Travis Glover.

Smith arrived at Virginia Tech in 2017 as a tight end; he was an all-state performer as a senior in 2016. With the Hokies, though, he transitioned to the offensive line. He started 33 games over his final three seasons, with 32 of those starts coming at left guard.

“He cares and he wants to be right, and sometimes that slows him down because he wants to be perfect,” then-Hokies coach Justin Fuente said. “He wants to do things the right way. And through reps and through time, I’m optimistic that that natural ability and explosiveness and athleticism combined with confidence and knowing exactly what to do ... combining that technique with the ability to cut it loose is what he’s getting towards.”

Green Bay Packers Rookies

Rookie Camp: Day 1 | Broken toe for Oladapo | Michael Pratt | Tryout players

All-Star Scouts: Jordan Morgan | Edgerrin Cooper | Javon Bullard | MarShawn Lloyd | Ty’Ron Hopper | Evan Williams, Kitan Oladapo

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.