In October 2025, NFL player Za’Darius Smith walked into the Philadelphia Eagles’ facility and announced he was done.
No injury. No falling out. Just five games into a reported one-year, $9 million deal with the defending Super Bowl champions, Smith announced his retirement on Instagram.
The Eagles were blindsided by the decision, and fans quickly drew their own conclusions — most of which were not kind. For ten months, he said nothing about what was going on behind the scenes until now.
Sitting down at a podium in Flowery Branch, Georgia, on Wednesday, August 26, Smith finally broke his silence.
The veteran linebacker explained his exit in his first press conference since retirement
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“I wasn’t supposed to retire,” Smith told the press, per Yahoo. “I wasn’t going to tell the story, but I’m going to tell it.
The 33-year-old recalled getting a phone call from my mom’s doctor telling me that she didn’t have much longer to live.
“I let the team know. Obviously they wasn’t trying to let me leave,” Smith shared. “But that was the only thing I had left — to retire. So I retired.”
Ever since the announcement on Aug. 18 that he would be joining the Falcons, Smith had faced a wave of criticism — particularly on Instagram.
Under a recent post, the most-liked comments openly questioned why he had “faked” his retirement.
What fans didn’t realize was the heartbreak behind his sudden departure.
Smith revealed that he stepped away from football after learning his mother was terminally ill.
This is painful: #Falcons OLB Za’Darius Smith opened up today on why he abruptly retired last year with the #Eagles.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 26, 2026
His mom passed away, followed by his grandma, and then his dad.
“This is my happy place. I was in a dark place.” 💔🙏
(🎥 @kinseyleetv) pic.twitter.com/vqWLHsnCm1Shortly after her death, he lost his grandmother, and then his father — three devastating losses within a few short months. At one point, he got choked up and tears filled his eye.
“This is my happy place,” he said of football. “To come back and play football. I was in a dark place.”
Smith added that his mom “had always wanted him in Atlanta with the Falcons,” because it was close to the family’s home in Alabama.” “My mom, rest her soul,” he said.
The replies to the clip filled up fast on X, and a lot of them were apologies.
“We all assumed he just quit based on the timing,” one person wrote. “Sucks to hear what he was actually going through behind it all. Prayers for his family and a healthy year/proper retirement.”
Another felt regret for their own past words about Smith’s retirement announcement. They wrote, “Take back everything I said. I’m sorry for ur loss brobro.”
“Oh man, that’s such a tough year,” one person posted. “I hope he’s doing better now and I hope he has a good season.” Meanwhile, another appeared to highlight family and health over career: “Some things are bigger than the game.”
One reply zeroed in on how the comeback actually started. “Thing that sticks out to me is a GM calling him to see if he still wants to play ball,” they wrote. “Not checking on him as a human being who just lost three close family members. I get it’s a business but damn man.”
Baltimore first drafted Smith in the fourth round in 2015, and he spent his first four seasons with the Ravens.
He then signed with Green Bay in 2019, earning back-to-back Pro Bowl selections and a second-team All-Pro nod in 2020. A move to Minnesota in 2022 produced his third Pro Bowl appearance.
He split 2024 between Cleveland and Detroit, recording nine sacks overall, before the Lions released him in March 2025. Philadelphia picked him up that September, joining the team just after their season opener.
Smith’s personal life was also public that year. March 2025 is also the year he went on a trip to Ghana with his then-girlfriend, Detroit rapper Kash Doll.
The couple were Instagram official by April, walked the “BET Awards” red carpet together in June and split on Aug. 10.
Kash Doll and Za’Darius Smith on the 2025 #BETAwards red carpet pic.twitter.com/LyrrOEKpEf
— Block Topickz (@BlockTopickz) June 9, 2025
Speaking to Essence, the rapper explained that while Smith was “a great guy,” the two simply couldn’t see eye to eye.
Yet, just nine days later, they were photographed together in St. Lucia — keeping the back-and-forth relationship in the headlines throughout the fall.
The football side of things resurfaced this month. Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry called first, prompting Smith to visit the Browns expecting to sign.
However, the two sides couldn’t agree on financial terms. That’s when Atlanta reached out. On Aug. 18, Smith signed a one-year, $6 million deal with the Falcons — worth up to $8 million with incentives, per CBS Sports.
The fit wasn’t only about need. Kevin Stefanski, his former head coach in Cleveland, now leads the Falcons.
