Steve Smith Sr.
Smith in 2015 | |||||||||||||
| No. 89 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | May 12, 1979 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | University (Los Angeles) | ||||||||||||
| College |
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| NFL draft | 2001: 3rd round, 74th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Stevonne Latrall Smith Sr. (born May 12, 1979), better known as Steve Smith, is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played college football for the Utah Utes and was selected by the Panthers in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft. Smith spent 13 seasons in Carolina and three with the Baltimore Ravens. After retiring from the NFL, Smith became a sports analyst and show host for NFL Network.
A five-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time All-Pro (including a 2011 selection from Pro Football Focus), Smith emerged as one of the NFL's most productive wide receivers, leading the league in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns in 2005. He is the Panthers' all-time leader in receptions (836), receiving yards (12,197), receiving touchdowns (67), punt returns (178), punt return yards (1,652), punt return touchdowns (4), and total touchdowns (75). In 2011, he became the 35th player in NFL history to amass 10,000 receiving yards. At the time of his retirement, Smith ranked seventh in NFL career all-purpose yards (19,180), seventh in NFL career receiving yards (14,731), twelfth in career receptions (1,031), and 26th in receiving touchdowns (81).
Smith has the 5th most 100-yard receiving games in NFL history, with 51 in the regular season and 4 in the postseason. He generated more than 1,000 all-purpose yards in eleven different seasons, attaining 1,900 yards in four of his first five seasons. In 2005 and 2008, Smith led the NFL in receiving yards per team pass attempt, which account for the two greatest yards per team pass attempt receiving seasons in modern NFL history. In 2008, Smith led the NFL in yards receiving per game (101.5) despite playing for a team that finished last in pass attempts (as of 2026, he remains the only receiver in NFL history to accomplish this feat). Smith amassed 100 all-purpose touchdowns in his career, including 11 in the postseason.