The Jacksonville Jaguars have reached a verbal agreement to re-sign veteran center Jeff Smith. Length and terms of the contract are undisclosed.

Smith was an unrestricted free agent who played last year with the Jaguars. He started the final 12 games of the season after being obtained on August 31 following his release by the Kansas City Chiefs. The

6-3, 316-pound Smith will enter his sixth season in 2001. His leadership of the young offensive line last

season was a key to the team's resurgence in the second half of the year, when the Jaguars won five of six games from October 29 through December 10.

Smith has started 17 of 45 games played in his five NFL seasons. He was originally a seventh-round draft choice of the Chiefs in the 1996 draft.