[bears9]

ALLEN PARK, MI -- The Detroit Lions announced Tuesday that they have signed free agent safety Dwight Smith to a two-year deal. No other terms of Smith’s contract were disclosed.

Smith (5-10, 201) is entering his eighth NFL season and brings experience as both a safety and nickel cornerback to the Lions' secondary. Overall, Smith has played in 106 career games (75 starts), tallying 22 interceptions (301 return yards) along with 464 tackles (356 solo). To go along with those career totals, he has recorded 63 pass defenses, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, 10 forced fumbles and 58 tackles on special teams.

For the past two seasons (2006-07), Smith has been a key contributor to the Minnesota Vikings defensive backfield. He snagged four interceptions each of the past two seasons for the Vikings and tied Darren Sharper for the team lead in each of those two seasons. Since 2006, he started 26 games, garnered 155 tackles and knocked down 18 passes. Last year, his season was highlighted by a 93-yard interception return at the New York Giants, which was the third-longest in Vikings history. On the day, he collected two interceptions off QB Eli Manning and 112 return yards, ranking second in Vikings history for the most interception return yards in a single game.

Prior to signing with Minnesota, he signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2005, where he played 15 games (15 starts), recorded 86 tackles (71 solo), one sack, two interceptions, seven passes defensed and two forced fumbles.

Lions ink two-year deal with safety Smith