The San Diego Chargers hope they can make something out of a promising inside linebacker after the Packers gave up on D.J. Smith, signing the 24 year old on draft day, just one day after the Packers released the player who suffered a season-ending injury in 2012.
D.J. Smith signs with Chargers after release by Packers
If D.J. Smith can recover from an ACL tear suffered in October, the Chargers may have found themselves a steal off the free agency market, picking up the 24-year-old linebacker a day after the Packers released him.
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Smith had seemed like a nice find for the Packers, who took him out of Appalachian State in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. He played all 16 games for Green Bay his rookie season, and he'd filled in reasonably for the franchise, starting all six games in 2012 after an injury to starting middle linebacker Desmond Bishop. But he, too, suffered an injury, tearing his ACL in October. Wednesday, the Packers released him, much to the dismay of those at Acme Packing Company.
We have yet to see whether Smith is healthy, as an ACL tear is a serious injury which can take over a year to recuperate for those of us who aren't Adrian Peterson. Bolts from the Blue termed the signing a "low-risk, high-reward" move, and if Smith can provide something for San Diego in 2013 as the team tries to find someone to fill the spot after the departure of Takeo Spikes.
Inside linebacker was marked a major concern for the Chargers in the draft, so maybe this will alleviate that.
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