Former Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette was released from the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad on Tuesday, the latest stop in a six-year NFL career that began as a fifth-round pick out of Iowa City.
The move was revealed via the NFL transaction wire.
The Cardinals signed Smith-Marsette to a reserve/futures deal in January after he spent the 2025 season on the New York Giants’ practice squad.
He was waived at the end of training camp, then brought back to the 17-man practice squad. Two weeks into the regular season, Arizona moved on. For Hawkeye fans, the news is familiar.
Smith-Marsette has bounced around the league since Minnesota drafted him 157th overall in 2021. He has appeared in 48 games across five teams, catching 14 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score.
His real value has been on special teams: 1,031 combined return yards and two return touchdowns, including a 100-yard kickoff return for a score with the Giants in 2024 and a punt-return touchdown with Carolina in 2023.
He also earned a Super Bowl ring with Kansas City in 2022 after a midseason practice-squad stint.
That explosiveness first showed up in Kinnick Stadium. A Newark, N.J., product who flipped from Minnesota to Iowa, Smith-Marsette became one of Kirk Ferentz’s most dynamic playmakers from 2017-20. He finished with 110 receptions for 1,615 yards and 13 touchdowns, plus 274 rushing yards and four scores.
As a returner he was elite: Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year in 2018, first-team All-Big Ten that season, and two kickoff-return touchdowns in 2019. His 28.8-yard career kick-return average ranks among the best in program history.
Iowa used him as a gadget player and deep threat when the offense needed a spark. Those same traits kept him employed in the NFL even as receiving opportunities stayed limited.
At 27, he remains a speed option teams can stash on a practice squad and elevate for returns or a handful of offensive snaps.
The Cardinals’ decision does not end his career. Practice-squad cuts happen weekly as teams tweak depth and evaluate younger players.
Smith-Marsette has already found new homes after similar releases in Minnesota, Chicago, Carolina and New York. Another team needing return help or a veteran who knows how to practice could call soon.
For now, it is another reminder of how thin the line is between roster stability and free agency for mid-round college stars. Hawkeye fans who watched him take the top off defenses and take kicks to the house will keep tracking the next landing spot. Go Hawks still applies.
