Before the season, the idea of Irv Smith playing at a game in Arrowhead Stadium in the postseason would have felt like a somewhat surprising and nice story for the Kansas City Chiefs. After all, the Chiefs signed Smith to a one-year deal last March in the hopes that he would bolster the team's tight end depth and help them make a run at another Super Bowl.
Well, s it turns out, Smith is playing on Saturday in the Divisional Round at Arrowhead, but the situation is hardly what anyone could have anticipated.
The Houston Texans have elevated Smith from the practice squad in anticipation of playing the Chiefs on Saturday in the first of four games slated for the weekend.
Irv Smith is going to have his moment at Arrowhead after all.
If you didn't realize Smith was with the Texans, you're not alone. The veteran tight end was a quiet addition to the team's practice squad after the Chiefs decided to go in a different direction at the position. He's mostly remained there since September, with scant appearances in 5 games for Houston (with only 85 total snaps played on offense).
On Saturday, however, Smith might have a bigger moment than expected.
The Texans have enjoyed solid tight end play from Dalton Schultz this season as the primary starter and his importance has only grown since the team lost Tank Dell back in their last game against the Chiefs due to injury. Schultz caught 5 passes for 45 yards and 1 touchdown in the regular-season matchup between both teams.
Behind Schultz is Cade Stover, an impressive rookie pass catcher who was coming on stronger toward season's end. He had four catches in the Wild Card round alone for the Texans, but he suffered a broken collarbone in the game and the team was forced to place Stover on injured reserve earlier this week.
In Stover's place, the Texans have now promoted Smith back to the active roster before facing the Chiefs. And that means Smith's season has come full circle. It will be interesting to see if the veteran can make his presence felt in Kansas City, even as he's wearing the uniform of a different team.