Smith is progressing in his recovery from season-ending knee surgery and is on track to play next season, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
The rookie-third corner landed on injured reserve in early November and was not cleared to return after undergoing a procedure on his knee. Smith also missed four games earlier in the year due to a hamstring injury and was limited to just four regular-season games, logging six tackles (three solo) and one fumble recovery while serving on special teams and the Texans' third corner behind Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter. Whether Smith is available at the start of the 2026 regular season largely depends on his level of participation during training camp.
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Texans' Jaylin Smith: Removed from injured reserve
Rotowire
The Texans activated Smith (hamstring) from injured reserve Saturday.
Smith was designated to return to practice Wednesday, and he earned the questionable tag for Sunday's game against the 49ers after putting together an LP-FP-FP practice log. His activation off IR indicates that he's on track to play in Week 8, but his official status may not be known until the Texans announce their list of inactive players approximately 90 minutes before the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff. The rookie third-rounder posted four tackles (two solo) through the first two games of the regular season prior to his placement on IR due to a hamstring injury.
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Texans' Jaylin Smith: Set to return to practice
Rotowire
Smith (hamstring) was designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday, per the NFL transaction log.
Sidelined since Week 3 with the hamstring injury, Smith was able to log a limited practice Wednesday. It's unclear if he'll be able to return for a Week 8 matchup against the 49ers, and he'll likely occupy primarily a special-teams role when healthy.
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Texans' Jaylin Smith: Houston picks corner in Round 3
Rotowire
The Texans selected Smith in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 97th overall.
Smith (5-foot-11, 187 pounds) played a lot of snaps in his four years at USC, but he mostly played safety and slot corner. That USC used Smith in that capacity probably doesn't bode well for his coverage abilities, and meanwhile Smith probably lacks the frame to continue playing as a slot defender/safety tweener. The Texans might see him as a slot corner, perhaps to free up Jalen Pitre to log more snaps at safety and fewer from the slot.
