New Falcons DE Za'Darius Smith reveals he retired last season to spend time with his mother before her death

Posted by Admin August 26, 2026 NFL

Za’Darius Smith came out of retirement and joined the Atlanta Falcons this offseason in a move that should provide their defensive front with a significant boost.

But the only reason why Smith suddenly retired in the middle of last season when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles, he revealed on Wednesday, was due to his mother.

“I was in a dark place,” an emotional Smith said.

Smith said that he received a call from his mother’s doctor during last season and was told that she didn’t have much longer to live. Very quickly, only five games into his time with the Eagles, Smith opted to retire so he could be with her.

Play Yahoo’s new College Fantasy Football game: Create or join a league now!

After retiring, Smith said his mother died. Both his father and his grandmother have died in recent months, too.

While he didn’t want to walk away from football, retiring last season was the only option left for him.

“I let the [Eagles] know,” Smith said. “Obviously, they wasn’t trying to let me leave, but that was the only thing I had left [was] to retire. So, I retired.”

Smith signed a one-year, $9 million deal to join the Eagles two days before the team’s season opener last fall. He recorded 10 total tackles and 1.5 sacks in his five games with the franchise.

Once he was able to get in a better place this offseason, Smith went to visit the Cleveland Browns after general manager Andrew Berry called him up. But the money didn’t work out right away, and eventually he got a call from the Falcons.

Last week, he signed a one-year, $6 million deal to officially join Atlanta. He should be able to slide right in, too, after the team lost Jalon Walker for the entire season with an ACL injury. Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. was suspended for eight games, too.

“My mom, rest her soul, man, she always wanted me to be in Atlanta with the Falcons,” Smith said.

Smith is now preparing for his 12th season in the league this fall. The Baltimore Ravens first selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Kentucky, and he’s spent time with the Green Bay Packers, Browns and Detroit Lions before he landed with the Eagles. In total, Smith has 70.5 sacks and 343 total tackles in his career.

Though it’s been a horrific year for him off the field, he’s thrilled to be playing football once again.