NEW YORK (AP) – Akili Smith, the third overall pick in the 1999 draft, will try to get back in the NFL by playing in NFL Europe with Frankfurt Galaxy this spring.

Smith is one of three quarterbacks who have started games in the NFL who will play in Europe. The others are Houston’s Dave Ragone, who started two games in 2003, and Kurt Kittner, now with Chicago, who started four games for Atlanta that same season.

Smith, who started 17 games in four seasons with Cincinnati, is one of five quarterbacks chosen with the first 12 picks in the 1999 draft.

Only two are NFL starters: Donovan McNabb of Philadelphia and Daunte Culpepper of Minnesota.

Among the others who will play in Europe are running back Jarrett Payton, son of Walter Payton, and Eric Crouch, the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner as quarterback at Nebraska. Payton is on the roster of the Tennessee Titans, and Crouch has been signed by Kansas City as a defensive back.

AP-ES-02-15-05 1816EST