The Saskatchewan Roughriders signed running back Rodney Smith on Tuesday. Rodney Smith is five foot eleven and weighs 200 pounds. The 27-year-old from Jonesboro, Georgia, played one preseason game for the Roughriders in 2023 against the B.C. Lions with seven carries for 27 yards, and one catch for four yards before he was released on June 4th.
Before Saskatchewan, Smith was on the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans practice squads in 2021. Rodney Smith signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
He played two seasons in Carolina (2020-21) with 41 carries for 156 yards, one touchdown, and 14 catches for 107 yards in nine games. Afterward, he returned to the Panthers practice squad before being released.
Collegiately, Smith played five seasons at the University of Minnesota (2015-19) with 879 carries for 4,122 yards, 29 touchdowns, 65 catches for 521 yards, 30 kick returns for 798 yards, and two touchdowns in 52 games.
His 879 carries are the third most in school history, and his 4,122 rushing yards are ranked second all-time in school history. Furthermore, his 5,441 all-purpose yards rank first in school history.
In addition, he is a two-time Bruce Smith Award for Outstanding Player of the Year (2016, 2019), 2016 Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP, All-Big Ten Third Team in 2016, and All-Big Ten Second Team in 2019.
In addition, the Roughriders announced that offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins has been removed from the suspended list, and offensive lineman Colin Kelly returns after serving a two-game suspension.
Jerald Hawkins is six foot six and weighs 305 pounds. The 29-year-old from Baldwin, Louisiana, signed with the Roughriders on December 8th, 2022. Before Saskatchewan, he spent two seasons on the New Orleans Saints practice squad.
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Hawkins in the fourth round (123rd pick) in the 2016 NFL Draft out of LSU. However, he suffered a shoulder injury in training camp and missed the 2016 season. The following year, he played five games, and in 2018 tore his quad and missed the entire season.
In 2019, Hawkins was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played one game. Then in 2020, Hawkins signed with the Houston Texans and was on the practice squad before the Steelers brought him back and played 13 games.
In 2021, Hawkins signed with the New England Patriots but was released during training camp on August 16th. Four months later, Hawkins signed with the Saints.
Collegiately, Hawkins played 37 games in three seasons at LSU (2013-15) playing 12 games at left tackle and 25 games at right tackle for the Tigers. He opted to forgo his senior year to enter the NFL Draft.
Colin Kelly is six foot five and weighs 298 pounds. The 33-year-old from Longview, Washington, played ten games for the Seattle Sea Dragons (XFL) in 2023. Before Seattle, Kelly played 14 games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2022.
Kelly signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2012. In 2013, he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks and played 26 games in two seasons before returning to the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. After the 49ers released him, he went to the Chicago Bears before returning to the 49ers, and later the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017.
After Jacksonville released him, Kelly signed with the Edmonton Eskimos (now Elks) and played 50 games in three and half seasons before Edmonton traded him to Hamilton in 2022.
Collegiately, Kelly played 48 games in four seasons at Oregon State (2009-12). He started 25 games playing right tackle for the Beavers.
