Veteran NFL linebacker Za’Darius Smith has revealed he briefly retired from football last year to care for his dying mother.
Smith made a bombshell return to the NFL earlier this month and joined the Atlanta Falcons less than a year after walking away from the sport.
In a press conference this week, the 33-year-old revealed he got a call from his mother’s doctor last year and discovered she did not have long to live.
Smith said he was sure he wanted to leave the Philadelphia Eagles at that point, after playing just five games for them, and chose to go into retirement to be there for his mother.
‘I wasn’t supposed to retire,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t going to tell the story, but I’m going to tell it. I got a phone call from my mom’s doctor telling me that she don’t have much longer to be on this earth.
‘I let the team know. Obviously they wasn’t trying to let me leave, but that was the only thing I had left – to retire. So, I retired.’
Za’Darius Smith has revealed he briefly retired from the NFL to care for his dying mother
Smith, pictured with his mom Sharon in 2019, also lost his father and grandmother recently
In a devastating turn of events, Smith revealed his grandmother and father also died shortly after his mother’s passing in what was a turbulent few months. ‘I was in a dark place,’ he admitted.
Smith previously spent a decade in the NFL and joined the Eagles for the 2025 season on a $9million deal.
Earlier this month, however, it was confirmed that the pass rusher – a three-time Pro Bowler – was returning to professional football.
Smith worked out for the Cleveland Browns but the Falcons swooped to sign him to a one-year, $6m deal.
‘This is my happy place,’ Smith continued. ‘Come back, play football. I was in a dark place, but, you know, coming out, running out on the field, the fans – not just the fans, man, the joy that I get from winning and just getting sacks.’
The linebacker, who turns 34 in September, was taken in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He has also spent time with the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions and the Browns.
The Falcons need cover at defensive end after losing Jalon Walker to a season-ending knee injury and James Pearce Jr to an eight-game suspension after his offseason arrest for an alleged incident involving then-girlfriend, WNBA star Rickea Jackson.
