After escaping San Fran, Smith seeks fresh start

It wasn’t breaking news, the Josh Norman threat to “let all hell break loose” on receivers in the NFC East. It brought a smile to the face of Eagles receiver Torrey Smith, no stranger to trash talk from his tour with the Ravens, who waged interdivision war with the Steelers.

“That’s what DBs do, they talk,” Smith said. “He’s talented, obviously. But I don’t know, man. Some of them are like WWE characters.”

Smith wasn’t personally threatened in the Bleacher Report piece by Washington’s Norman, who gave less than glowing assessments of East receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Dez Bryant. Smith and Alshon Jeffery apparently haven’t been around long enough to be targeted.

When it happens, it will be a welcome change for Smith. Anything beats the last two seasons with the 49ers, the 7-25 hitch that ended on Injured Reserve with a concussion.

“It was tough for everyone,” Smith said. “I try to be really sensitive when I talk about my time in San Francisco because each and every time I say something it makes it seem like I’m taking a shot at the quarterbacks or the coaching (staff), when in reality I have all the respect in the world for the organization. It just didn’t work.”

Last year the 6-1, 205-pound Smith caught 20 passes for 267 yards (13.3 average) and three TDs. The Chip Kelly 49ers went 2-14.

The previous season Smith averaged a team-high 20.1 yards on 33 catches for the Jim Tomsula-coached Niners, who were 5-11.

Five of Smith’s seven TD passes, including his last scoring grab in 2016 came from Colin Kaepernick, out of work allegedly due to the furor over his National Anthem protest last season.

Smith thinks Kaepernick has the skills to get another job. And he hopes the league that’s been forgiving enough to give players with domestic violence and other issues in their pasts do the same.

“First of all, he did it quietly,” Smith said of Kaepernick’s decision to sit, and later kneel for the Anthem. “No one even knew he did it. Then he had to address it once everyone knew and the media was there. He was like, ‘this is what we’re going to do.’ It got to the point with us where we were like, alright, this is what he’s going to do. It’s going to be 90 seconds before every game or however long the Anthem takes. And then that’s it. It’s not like you were in the huddle (in a game) and he’s calling the play and you’re like, ‘Man, this dude just took a knee.’ He’s trying to win a ball game. It wasn’t a big deal at the end of the day.”

It was a big deal for fans, however, and Giants owner John Mara shed light on that recently. Mara told SI he received considerable mail from people threatening to never watch another of the team’s games if Kaepernick was signed.

For now, that’s not Smith’s problem. His job is to show he still has the skills of the guy who averaged 53 receptions, 16.9 yards a catch and almost 7.5 touchdowns a season with the Ravens.

Smith is going to get his chance as he’s basically the deep threat for quarterback Carson Wentz. Jeffery has flashed elite skills even in the non-padded practices. Smith’s speed and routerunning ability tops what the Eagles had last year.

The Eagles invested a chunk of money in Jeffery (one year, $9.5 million) and Smith (three years, $15 million). They want results.

“People ask me all the time about proving people wrong,” Smith said. “It’s not about proving anyone wrong. It’s about proving people right, including the folks here because I know what I can do and I’m going to show it.”