A native of Salisbury, North Carolina, Smith starred at West Rowan High School, where he tallied 16.5 sacks during his senior season. He went on to spend his college career at Arkansas, earning second-team All-SEC honors as a senior in 2013, as he tallied 11.5 tackles for a loss and 8.5 sacks.
In 2014, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Smith in the fifth round (No. 159 overall) of the NFL Draft. He proceeded to spend three seasons with the Jaguars before being traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, with whom he tallied three sacks and nine quarterback hits in 16 games during the 2017 season.
The following offseason, Smith signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the Browns. Appearing in 25 games over the course of two seasons, he recorded 22 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and three passes defended before being released during the 2019 season.
Following his release from the Browns, Smith spent time with the Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans before signing with the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons, with whom he played in four games with during the 2023 season.