ATLANTA — A new Atlanta Falcons player opened up for the first time about his sudden retirement and his return to the NFL.
Za’Darius Smith didn’t expect to retire months into the 2025 season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Then he got a call that changed everything.
“Got a phone call from my mom’s doctor telling me that she don’t have much longer to be on this earth,” Smith revealed Wednesday.
He said the only thing left for him to do was retire and spend more time with his mother. After she died, Smith suffered two more losses.
“After losing my mom, I lost my grandma. Then after my grandma, I just lost my dad,” he said.
Smith said he went into a dark place after dealing with so much loss. He wasn’t sure if he would play football again, but he eventually started to work out this summer.
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And that caught the attention of multiple teams, including Atlanta. The Falcons had a need for a veteran edge rusher. Kevin Stefanski coached Smith during their time in Cleveland together.
Smith felt his mother was guiding him to join the Falcons.
“My mom, man rest her soul ... she always wanted me be in Atlanta,” said Smith, who grew up in Montgomery, Ala. “She always wanted the fam to come up and support me for the games because that’s a closer ride ... So to get the phone call from Atlanta, it was great. And that’s another reason why I picked Atlanta.”
The Falcons signed Smith to a one-year, $6 million contract. Smith is glad to be back where he belongs: on the gridiron.
“This is my happy place. Come back, play football. I was in a dark place. But you know, coming out, running out the field, the fans, not only just the fans, the joy that I get from winning and getting sacks,” Smith said.
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