Cornerback Sean Smith’s first season with the Raiders got off to a shaky start when he was benched in the first game of the season, but he was able to rebound from that low to turn in a solid season in the Oakland secondary.
Smith did that work despite a shoulder injury that forced him to miss one game and led him to an operating room recently. At a Thursday press conference, Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie said that Smith had shoulder surgery and said, via Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group, that the team expects Smith to be “just fine” for next season.
Smith isn’t the only Raider on the mend after shoulder surgery. Right tackle Austin Howard went for a repair of a torn labrum that he said he initially suffered in training camp.
Howard was able to start 10 regular season games and their playoff loss to the Texans after the injury.