One never knows what to expect from one day to the next.
Wade Smith found that out in 2006 when Miami's fourth-year offensive lineman was inactive for the Dolphins' season-opener in Pittsburgh, and then was a member of the Jets for their Week 2 game against New England.
"I was released after the first game and the next day I went up to New York for a visit," Smith said. "I don't know if they had an injury or something, but they ended up signing me on the Thursday before the second game.
"The offensive line coach that drafted me in Miami was Tony Wise, and he was the offensive line coach in New York when I got released. Coach Wise asked me. 'Do you want to play tackle or do you want to play guard or center?' Because I have been playing center and guard for a year and a half. And I just told him, 'Whatever I could play to get on the field.'"
Since he was at the University of Memphis, Smith had experience playing all over the field. As a freshman, he was a tight end. He played at fullback as a sophomore. When he was a junior, he switched to right tackle. And then he played left tackle during his senior season.
In his three seasons with the Dolphins, Smith learned how to play center and guard as well as seeing action at both right and left tackle, where he started all 16 games as a rookie.
"In New York, I was the first guy in (as a substitute) at all five spots. I think that was a huge deal for my career, because when you're not the starter, you're running scout team plays. But then you're also backing up all of the starters," Smith said.
"During each (practice) period, you might have a 10- or 12-play period, and I'm getting two plays at left tackle, two plays at left guard, two plays at center, two plays at right guard, and two plays at right tackle. So you pretty much learn the entire offense and what everybody has to do. And I also played tight end in goal-line situations.
"It definitely helped me as far as just learning how to be versatile, and learning what it took to stay in the league. (Eric) Mangini was the head coach and he came from New England. And the adage – the more you can do, the more you can help your team win ball games – came from Bill Belichick. And so I was a part of that."
During his two seasons with the Jets, Smith took part in going up against his former team, the AFC East rival Dolphins. And going on to play for Kansas City, Houston, where he was a Pro Bowler 2012, and Philadelphia, playing against one of his previous teams happened time and again.
"I think that was something that's common for guys, wherever you're at in the league," Smith said. "Once you leave a place and you go back and play against that place, or they come to you, those are games you kind of circle on the calendar, games that you get excited about.
"And one thing that was pretty cool throughout my career, and I'd have to go back and look it up, but I pretty much feel like 80, 90 percent of the time my new team beat my old team. When I was with the Jets, I don't remember losing to Miami."
Which he didn't. Besides those four victories and helping make the playoffs in 2006, Smith's fondest memories from his time with the Jets include the fans and the journeys.
"Of course, you had the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets. Jets chant, that was pretty cool. I had never been anywhere that had crowd participation like that. Yeah, the Jet fans were serious about ball. You could tell that they had high expectations," Smith said.
"And back then, the Jets were on Long Island and I really enjoyed living in Westbury. And it was kind of interesting, because every home game felt like an away game. You were getting on a bus and traveling through the city to get to the stadium. That was cool because New York is just a cool place anyway.
"So I enjoyed that. Didn't necessarily enjoy the bus ride home after games because you're tired and you have to get through traffic. Sometimes it'd feel like it would take like two hours to get from the game to home.
"But I enjoyed living in New York. I enjoyed the people there, and I met a lot of really cool people during my time in New York. A lot of guys that you come across later on in life, it's cool to reconnect with them, as well."
Spending 12 years in the league, four times the average length of a player's career, with the Dolphins, Jets, Chiefs, Texans, and Eagles, what makes Smith most proud of his time in the NFL?
"I played tight end and fullback in college my first two years and then moved to the offensive line. And so my stage of development coming into the NFL, playing offensive lineman, I was behind. A lot of guys had been playing it their entire lives," Smith said. "But blocking for multiple 1,000-yard rushers, I feel like I got everything out of my talent that I could get. I really feel like I always meant to be an offensive lineman.
"So playing 12 years in the league, that was just a hell of an accomplishment to me, because coming in, my first goal was just, 'Hey, I want to play. I want to finish my first contract.' That's four years. Then after that, it was like, 'Alright, I did that. I want to play for 10 years.'
"I think I did a good job of just being a good teammate, just being somebody that was unselfish. And when I stopped playing, it was like my choice to stop playing. The door wasn't closed on me. And so I would just say that I was proud of those things."
Smith also has the right to feel proud of what he's accomplished off the field as the founder of the Wade Smith Foundation. Its mission is to facilitate the growth of youth by providing them with the necessary tools to improve their overall development as young adults, through literacy and educational programs.
"Ever since I was a little kid, I always loved to read books" Smith said. "And so once I got myself established in the league and had an opportunity to actually focus more on giving back to the community, I wanted to make sure that I shared something that I was passionate about with the kids.
"Reading books is always something that was an escape for me, something that I always enjoyed doing. And so that's why I started the foundation in 2012, and we're still doing well to this day."
One of the foundation's programs – Reading With the Pros – supports childhood literacy and education through in-person celebrity book readings and classroom visits.
"We're at four elementary schools in the Houston Independent School District. And we've done that program all over the country. We've done it at a couple of Super Bowls and in my hometown, Dallas," Smith said.
"That program and my scholarship program, where we've given out over $200,000 in scholarship funds to outgoing seniors in Houston and Dallas, I'm just really proud of being able to impact young people and share with them my love for reading, and all my volunteers within the organization that share the same. We let these kids know that there's so many opportunities out there that education and books can open up for them."
And when Smith sees that he's gotten through to the kids…
"It's a thank you to everybody that helped me get to where I was able to get in life," he said. "And it's confirmation when you hear stories from teachers and from parents and from students that say, 'I remember when you came to my school' and they tell you about how something they heard or they saw or you said changed how they view things.
"We all have things that happen in life that are tough and we struggle, but understanding that there's ways to overcome those things, that's what it's all about. I want to leave a legacy behind that, 'Wherever you went in life, it was better than when you got there.'"
Making their home in suburban Houston, Smith and his wife, Rita, have four daughters: Arissa, Aaliyah, Arielle and Ashlyn.
"I'm really proud of my kids and all the things that they do and what they've accomplished. And them going out and pursuing their dreams and learning about life," Smith said. "And I think that a cool thing is that different people know me as different things.
"To my kids, I'm dad. To the kids that I come and read to their schools, I'm Mr. Wade. To the kids that I coach, I'm Coach Wade. That keeps you grounded and really shows all the blessings that I've received in life."
