Pre-draft Smith entered the 2009 NFL Draft as a highly ranked cornerback prospect. He fell into the 99th percentile among cornerbacks for height and was among the 98th percentile in weight.
Miami Dolphins 2009 The
Miami Dolphins selected Smith in the second round (61st overall) of the
2009 NFL draft. Smith was the sixth overall cornerback drafted and was the second cornerback selected by the Miami Dolphins in 2009. On July 24, 2009, the Dolphins signed Smith to a four-year,
$3.16 million contract that includes a
signing bonus of $945,000. in 2011. Throughout
training camp, Smith competed to be a starting cornerback against veterans
Jason Allen,
Eric Green, and rookie first round pick
Vontae Davis. Head coach
Tony Sparano officially named Smith a starting cornerback to start the regular season, along with
Will Allen. He made his professional regular season debut in the
Miami Dolphins' season-high-opener at the
Atlanta Falcons and recorded two solo tackles and deflected two passes in their 19–7 loss. He made his first career tackle on running back
Jerious Norwood during a two-yard gain in the first quarter. On November 1, 2009, Smith collected a season-high six solo tackles and a pass deflection in a 30–25 victory at the
New York Jets in Week 8. The following week, he tied his season-high of six solo tackles during a 27–17 loss at the
New England Patriots in Week 7. He completed his rookie season with 39 combined tackles (32 solo) and 12 pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts. He earned an overall grade of 77.7 from
Pro Football Focus and ranked 34th among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2009.
2010 Smith and Vontae Davis entered training camp slated as the starting cornerbacks but also received competition from Will Allen and Jason Allen. On September 6, 2010, head coach Tony Sparano surprised many analysts and fans when he announced Jason Allen would replace Sean Smith as the starting cornerback for the season-opener. He was demoted after struggling against wide receivers
Roddy White and
Sam Hurd during the preseason and was a healthy scratch for the Dolphins' 15–10 victory at the
Buffalo Bills in the season-opener. On October 31, 2010, Smith recorded a tackle, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception in the Dolphins' 22–14 victory at the
Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8. He intercepted a pass attempt by quarterback
Carson Palmer, that was intended for wide receiver
Terrell Owens, and returned it for an 18-yard gain before being tackled by
Andre Caldwell. His performance earned him back his job as a starting cornerback as he replaced Jason Allen who was subsequently waived on November 10, 2010. In Week 10, Smith collected a season-high six combined tackles during a 29–17 victory against the
Tennessee Titans. He finished the season with 51 combined tackles (43 solo), nine passes defended, and an interception in 15 games and eight starts. On October 23, 2011, Smith collected a season-high seven solo tackles in an 18–15 loss to the
Denver Broncos in Week 7. The following week, he made a season-high tying seven solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 20–17 loss at the
New York Giants in Week 8. On December 12, 2011, the Miami Dolphins fired head coach
Tony Sparano after they fell to a 4-9 record. Assistant head coach/secondary coach
Todd Bowles was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. He finished the
2011 season with a career-high 62 combined tackles (52 solo), seven pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts. On September 30, 2012, Smith recorded six solo tackles, a season-high four pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by quarterback
Kevin Kolb in the Dolphins' 24–21 overtime loss at the
Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. This game marked Smith's first career game with multiple interceptions. The following week, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles (six solo) and a pass deflection during a 17–13 victory at the
Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5. Smith finished the
2012 season with 59 combined tackles (52 solo), 12 passes defensed, and two interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts. He received an overall grade of 68.3 from
Pro Football Focus and ranked 66th among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2012. As a top free agent, he received interest from multiple teams, including the
Kansas City Chiefs,
Philadelphia Eagles,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
New England Patriots, and the
Arizona Cardinals.
Kansas City Chiefs 2013 On March 14, 2013, the
Kansas City Chiefs signed Smith to a three-year,
$18 million contract that includes $11 million guaranteed and a
signing bonus of $6.75 million. Smith competed for a starting job against
Dunta Robinson, who was also signed as a free agent. Head coach
Andy Reid named Smith a starting cornerback to begin the regular season, opposite
Brandon Flowers. In Week 6, Smith collected a season-high five solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 24–7 victory against the
Oakland Raiders. Smith returned an interception by quarterback
Jeff Tuel, that was intended for wide receiver
T. J. Graham, for a 100-yard touchdown. The touchdown became Smith's first career
pick six. In Week 13, he recorded a season-high tying five solo tackles during a 35–28 loss to the
Denver Broncos.
2014 Head coach Andy Reid demoted Smith after he was arrested for a DUI in June (see
Legal troubles). He competed against
Marcus Cooper,
Ron Parker, and
Chris Owens during training camp. Smith was named a starting cornerback, along with Marcus Cooper, to start the regular season. On September 29, 2014, Smith made a season-high two pass deflections, three solo tackles, and an interception during a 41–14 victory against the
New England Patriots in Week 4. The following week, he collected a season-high six solo tackles and two pass deflections in the Chiefs' 22–17 loss at the
Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. He finished the season with 50 combined tackles (47 solo), a career-high 16 passes defended, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts.
2015 On July 24, 2015, the NFL announced that Smith would be suspended for the first three games of the 2015 season after pleading guilty to a DUI charge earlier in April. Defensive coordinator
Bob Sutton named Smith and rookie
first round pick Marcus Peters the starting cornerbacks with
Phillip Gaines replacing Smith for the first three games. On November 1, 2015, Smith collected a season-high five solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections during a 45–10 victory against the
Detroit Lions in Week 5. In Week 17, he recorded a season-high six combined tackles in the Chiefs' 23–17 win against the
Oakland Raiders. Smith completed the season in
2013 with 45 combined tackles (40 solo), 12 pass deflections, and two interceptions in 13 games and 13 starts. The
Kansas City Chiefs finished the season second in the AFC West with an 11–5 record. On January 9, 2016, Smith started in the AFC Wildcard Game and recorded six solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by
Brian Hoyer as the Chiefs routed the
Houston Texans 30–0. The following week, he made four combined tackles in a 27–20 loss at the
New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round. Smith became an unrestricted free agent for the second time in his career after the 2015 season and drew interest from multiple teams after the
New York Giants signed top free agent cornerback
Janoris Jenkins. It was reported he received major interest from the
Oakland Raiders,
San Francisco 49ers, and
Los Angeles Rams.
Oakland Raiders 2016 On March 10, 2016, the
Oakland Raiders signed Smith to a four-year, $40 million contract that includes $20 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5 million. The contract included an option for the Raiders to opt-out of the agreement after the 2017 season. In Week 2, Smith collected a season-high five solo tackles during a 35–28 loss against the
Atlanta Falcons. The following week, he made three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and made his first interception as a part of the Raiders off a pass by quarterback
Marcus Mariota in a 17–10 victory at the
Tennessee Titans in Week 3. He was inactive for the Raiders' Week 9 victory against the
Denver Broncos after injuring his shoulder the previous week. He finished the season with 40 combined tackles (33 solo), 11 passes defensed, and two interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts.
2017 Defensive coordinator
Ken Norton Jr. retained Smith and Amerson as the starting cornerbacks to start the season, ahead of
T. J. Carrie and Gareon Conley. Smith was inactive for the Raiders' Week 2 victory against the
New York Jets due to a shoulder injury. Head coach Jack Del Rio benched him in favor of rookie
Gareon Conley after a poor performance against the
Baltimore Ravens in Week 5. He was a healthy scratch for their Week 6 loss to the
Los Angeles Chargers the following week. On December 17, 2017, Smith recorded three solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by quarterback
Dak Prescott during a 20–17 loss to the
Dallas Cowboys in Week 15. In Week 17, he collected a season-high six solo tackles in the Raiders' 30–10 loss at the
Los Angeles Chargers. Smith finished the
2017 season with 34 combined tackles (32 solo), four pass deflections, and two interceptions in 14 games and 14 starts. On March 12, 2018, the Raiders released Smith, forgoing the last two-years on his contract. The Raiders released him prior to his guilty plea of felony assault. Smith was suspended for the remainder of the
2018 season by the NFL on November 28, 2018. He was reinstated from suspension on March 19, 2019. ==NFL career statistics==