by Mick Moninghoff
LOWELL – The Massachusetts Pirates have signed former National Football League defensive back Tye Smith. Smith, a fifth-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2015 (170th overall), most recently was with the Memphis Showboats of the UFL in 2024.
From 2015 through 2022, Smith appeared in 45 NFL games, making 64 tackles, with two forced fumbles, two passes defended, an interception, and a touchdown coming on a blocked field goal return.
Smith, a 6’0″, 190 lb. former All-American from Towson University, played in four games with the Seahawks in 2015 and spent time on their practice squad in 2016. That same year he also was on the practice squad with the Washington Redskins.
2017 saw Smith sign with the Tennessee Titans, where he played three seasons. In that first year, he played in a career high 15 games where he made 19 tackles and had an interception. After being on injured reserve in 2018, the Raleigh, NC native returned for nine games in 2019, where he made 26 tackles and notched two forced fumbles. He scored his only NFL touchdown in week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts as he returned a blocked Adam Vinatieri field goal attempt 63 yards for a score in a 31-17 victory. In 2020, he played in 12 more games with the Titans, making 15 tackles.
In 2021, he joined the practice squad of the Minnesota Vikings and saw the field for five games in the 2022 season, making six tackles.
2023 saw Smith sign with the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. When the XFL and USFL merged to form the UFL, he was selected by the Memphis Showboats during the league dispersal draft. He remained with Memphis through March of 2024.
Smith played for four years at Towson University from 2011 through 2014, appearing in 50 games, making 312 tackles with six interceptions. His junior season saw him named to the Colonial Athletic Association All-Second team as he made 103 tackles with 4.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, two interceptions, 12 passes broken up, one fumble recovery, and two forced fumbles.
The Pirates have also signed defensive back Destin Mack.
Mack played from 2018 through 2022 at the Citadel, where he was an All-Southern Conference First-Team selection in his final season. He was a Second-Team choice in 2021.
After the 2022 season, he was drafted by both the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL and the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.
The 6’0″, 190 DB out of Macon, GA, did sign as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League in 2024 and attended training camp.
At the Citadel, Mack played in 53 games, making 182 tackles with six for a loss. He had two sacks, intercepted nine passes, defended 20, forced a fumble, recovered two others, and blocked two kicks.
His signature season was in 2021, when in 11 games, Mack had 44 tackles with two for a loss. He also had five interceptions while defending seven passes. He forced a fumble and blocked a pair of kicks.
