# Fish Smithson > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fish_Smithson > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fish_Smithson.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_Smithson > Source revision: 1339739145 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Anthony “Fish” Smithson**[1] (born March 18, 1994) is an American former professional [football](/source/American_football) player who was a [free safety](/source/Free_safety) in the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) (NFL). He played [college football](/source/College_football) for the [Kansas Jayhawks](/source/Kansas_Jayhawks_football) and was signed by the [Washington Redskins](/source/Washington_Redskins) as an [undrafted free agent](/source/Undrafted_free_agent) in 2017. He also played for the [Baltimore Ravens](/source/Baltimore_Ravens). ## College career ### Hartnell Smithson initially committed to play at [Hartnell College](/source/Hartnell_College) out of high school where he played his freshman year. ### Kansas Following his freshman year at Hartnell, he transferred to the [University of Kansas](/source/University_of_Kansas).[1] In 2015, he led the nation in solo tackles,[2] which led to him being named second-team [All-Big 12](/source/List_of_All-Big_12_Conference_football_teams).[3] In 2016 he was named first-team All-Big 12.[4] ## Professional career ### Washington Redskins After going undrafted in the [2017 NFL draft](/source/2017_NFL_draft), Smithson signed with the [Washington Redskins](/source/Washington_Redskins) as an [undrafted free agent](/source/Undrafted_free_agent).[5] He was waived on September 2, 2017, during roster cutdowns.[6] The following day, Smithson was re-signed to the Redskins' practice squad.[7] He was elevated to the active roster on December 19.[8] On September 1, 2018, Smithson was waived by the Redskins as a part of final roster cuts before the start of the regular season.[9] ### Arizona Cardinals On December 19, 2018, Smithson was signed to the [Arizona Cardinals](/source/Arizona_Cardinals)' practice squad.[10] He was released by Arizona on December 25.[11] ### Los Angeles Chargers On January 3, 2019, Smithson was signed to the [Los Angeles Chargers](/source/Los_Angeles_Chargers)' practice squad.[12] ### Jacksonville Jaguars On July 25, 2019, Smithson signed with the [Jacksonville Jaguars](/source/Jacksonville_Jaguars), but was waived by the team on August 4.[13] ### Baltimore Ravens On August 27, 2019, Smithson signed with the [Baltimore Ravens](/source/Baltimore_Ravens).[14] He was placed on [injured reserve](/source/Injured_reserve_list) on August 31, and was eventually released by the team on March 18, 2020.[15] ## Personal life Smithson's brother, Antoine "Shaky" Smithson, played [wide receiver](/source/Wide_receiver) at the [University of Utah](/source/Utah_Utes_football) and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the [Green Bay Packers](/source/Green_Bay_Packers) in 2011 but was shortly released off of injured reserve with an injury settlement.[16] His nickname "Fish" was given to him by his grandmother as a child due to his [fear of fish](/source/Fear_of_fish).[17] ## References 1. ["2014 Football Roster - Fish Smithson"](http://www.kuathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5725). *KUAtletics.com*. January 21, 2014. 1. ["Big Fish: Smithson has proven to be a valuable Jayhawk"](http://www2.kusports.com/news/2015/dec/26/big-fish-smithson-proven-valuable-jayhawk/). *KUAthletics.com*. December 26, 2015. 1. ["2016 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced"](http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=211345089). *Big12Sports.com* 1. ["2015 All-Big 12 Football Awards Announced"](http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=210570297). *Big12Sports.com* 1. ["Former Jayhawks Smithson and Stewart sign as undrafted free agents"](http://www.wibw.com/content/news/Former-Jayhawks-Smithson-and-Stewart-sign-as-undrafted-free-agents-420829033.html). *WIBW.com* 1. ["9/2: Redskins Make Roster Moves"](https://www.redskins.com/news/9-2-redskins-make-roster-moves-19307741). *Redskins.com*. September 2, 2017. 1. Czarda, Stephen (September 3, 2017). ["Redskins Sign Seven Players To The Practice Squad"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180201045708/http://www.redskins.com/news/article-1/Redskins-Sign-Seven-Players-To-The-Practice-Squad/19305edb-622d-448e-b778-56d00c2a8e2c). *Redskins.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.redskins.com/news/article-1/Redskins-Sign-Seven-Players-To-The-Practice-Squad/19305edb-622d-448e-b778-56d00c2a8e2c) on February 1, 2018. 1. Czarda, Stephen (December 19, 2017). ["Redskins Place Montae Nicholson On Injured Reserve, Sign Fish Smithson"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171222133544/http://www.redskins.com/news/article-1/Redskins-Place-Montae-Nicholson-On-Injured-Reserve-Sign-Fish-Smithson/4ecdb77d-aaf9-4e71-9bc3-9cfd9e557d4c). *Redskins.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.redskins.com/news/article-1/Redskins-Place-Montae-Nicholson-On-Injured-Reserve-Sign-Fish-Smithson/4ecdb77d-aaf9-4e71-9bc3-9cfd9e557d4c) on December 22, 2017. 1. ["9/1: Redskins Make Roster Moves"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180902052302/https://www.redskins.com/news/9-1-redskins-make-roster-moves). *Redskins.com*. September 1, 2018. Archived from [the original](https://www.redskins.com/news/9-1-redskins-make-roster-moves) on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018. 1. ["Cardinals add LB Pete Robertson, S Fish Smithson"](http://arizonasports.com/story/1777008/cardinals-add-lb-pete-robertson-s-fish-smithson/). *ArizonaSports.com*. December 19, 2018. 1. Urban, Darren (December 25, 2018). ["With Waiver Claim, Cardinals Bring Back D.J. Swearinger"](https://www.azcardinals.com/news/with-waiver-claim-cardinals-bring-back-d-j-swearinger). *AZCardinals.com* 1. ["Chargers sign S Fish Smithson to practice squad"](https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/2019/1/3/18167371/chargers-sign-fish-smithson-practice-squad). *Bolts From The Blue*. January 3, 2019. 1. ["Jaguars sign CB Josh Robinson and S Anthony "Fish" Smithson"](https://www.bigcatcountry.com/2019/7/26/8931430/jaguars-sign-cb-josh-robinson-and-s-anthony-fish-smithson). *Big Cat Country*. July 26, 2019. 1. Brown, Clifton. ["Ravens Sign Defensive Back Fish Smithson, Who Can't Swim"](https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/ravens-sign-defensive-back-fish-smithson-who-can-t-swim). *BaltimoreRavens.com*. Retrieved August 27, 2019. 1. ["Fish Smithson: Parts ways with Ravens"](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/fish-smithson-parts-ways-with-ravens/). *CBSSports.com*. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020. 1. [Packers make cuts, newcomers targeted](http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-cut-newbies-el6mq0l-168239866.html) *Journal Sentinel*, accessed June 29, 2013 1. ["Fish Smithson on his nickname, not being able to swim"](https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/video/fish-smithson-his-nickname-not-being-able-swim). *NBC Sports*. Retrieved August 27, 2019. ## External links - [Kansas Jayhawks bio](http://www.kuathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=7064) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fish Smithson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_Smithson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_Smithson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.