Za’Darius Smith revealed this week why he abruptly retired last October after five games with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The newly signed Atlanta Falcons defensive end said a call from his mother’s doctor told him she did not have much longer to live. He wanted to leave immediately to be with her. The Eagles would not release him, so retirement became his only option.
“I wasn’t supposed to retire,” Smith told reporters on Thursday. “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.”
His mother died after he stepped away. His grandmother and father also died soon after.
“I was in a dark place,” Smith said.
The 33-year-old, who has 70.5 career sacks, signed a one-year, $6 million deal with Atlanta on Aug. 18. The Falcons needed pass-rush help after Jalon Walker tore his ACL and James Pearce Jr. was suspended eight games.
“My mom — rest her soul, man — she always wanted me to be in Atlanta with the Falcons,” Smith said.
In her honor, he plans to bus her church family from Montgomery, Alabama, to home games.
