Saints announce WR Tre’Quan Smith activated from injured reserve

The New Orleans Saints wide receivers corps is back to full strength. The team announced Saturday that third-year pro Tre’Quan Smith has been activated from injured reserve after resting for the NFL-mandated three weeks. Smith returned to practice recently and showed enough progress to earn medical clearance for their Divisional Round matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’ll be interesting to see how snaps are split at the position. Five receivers took the field in the Wild-Card Round against the Chicago Bears, with Michael Thomas (56 snaps) and Emmanuel Sanders (55) leading the way. Practice squad call-up Lil’Jordan Humphrey (45) also played often, while Deonte Harris (24) and Marquez Callaway (23) rounded out the group.

Smith set career highs in targets (50), receptions (34), and receiving yards (448) in the regular season, though he caught just 4 touchdown passes after scoring 10 times in his first two years in the NFL. But most of his contributions have come as a blocker for his teammates, similar to the role Humphrey has played in his absence. Stay tuned for additional roster moves as they are reported.