Smith played in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.
Smith was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons after the 1988 NFL draft on May 2, with the intention on playing linebacker.
[4] He broke his right foot in the second preseason game against the Cleveland Browns and was placed on the injured reserve list on August 29.
[5][6] Although he didn't have many regular season games, Jimmy Johnson and Dave Wannstedt remembered his playing days at East Carolina University, and signed him as a Plan B free agent on March 3, 1990.
He replaced an injured Ken Norton Jr. at weakside linebacker in the 15th game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 1991, he started 12 games at weakside linebacker, although he contracted hepatitis, which forced the team to place him on injured reserve for 3 games (week 10 through week 12), and have Dixon Edwards replace him in the starting lineup.
[8] On August 17, 1993, after defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt became the head coach for the Chicago Bears, he traded for Smith, linebacker Barry Minter and a sixth-round draft pick, in exchange for linebacker John Roper, tight end Kelly Blackwell and safety Markus Paul.
In 1994, he played in 12 games (10 starts), he entered the season as the starter at strongside linebacker, but was limited with knee and ankle injuries that affected his production, finishing with 48 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.
He suffered a knee injury in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and missed the next 2 games.
In 1996, he tallied 89 tackles (sixth on the team), 2 fumble recoveries, one sack and one pass defensed.
[11] His preseason performance allowed the team to release Alan Campos, keeping only 5 linebackers, with Smith backing up all three linebacker positions, in order to make room for cornerback Deion Sanders under the salary cap.