Jaylin Smith: Everything you need to know

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 start of the 2026 regular season largely depends on his level of participation during training camp.

Smith (undisclosed) was placed on the injured reserve list Wednesday. The 2025 third-round pick from USC played 33 total snaps (25 on special teams, eight on defense) and recorded two total tackles in the Texans' Week 9 loss to the Broncos, but he appears to have sustained an injury in the process. Smith will now be forced to miss the team's next four games on IR. Expect Tremon Smith to operate as Houston's top reserve boundary corner while the rookie is sidelined.

Smith (hamstring) is active for Sunday's game against the 49ers. The Texans activated Smith from injured reserve Saturday after the rookie third-rounder ended the week with back-to-back full practices. He was still listed as questionable for Week 8, but he's been officially cleared to make his return after going through pregame warmups. Prior to his injury, Smith saw most of his work on special teams while also contributing to the secondary in a rotational role and logged four tackles (two solo) across two regular-season games.