Atlanta Falcons edge rusher Za’Darius Smith signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025, but abruptly retired midway through the season. Smith signed with the Atlanta Falcons last week. Appearing at the podium after practice Wednesday, he revealed that a tragic series of deaths in his family nearly drove him to a breaking point, but football has given him purpose.
“I wasn’t supposed to retire,” he said.
He noted that he had told himself he wouldn’t tell the story, but chose to do it anyway.
“[I] got a phone call from my mom’s doctor telling me that she didn’t have much longer to be on this earth. So I let the [Eagles] know,” he said.
The Eagles were not willing to let go of him, so his only recourse was to retire.
“After losing my mom, I lost my grandma. Then after my grandma, I just lost my dad. So y’all obviously know what I’ve been through.”
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry called Smith in the offseason, asking where his head was at and if he wanted to play again. Smith said he did and needed to come back because he was at his lowest point.
Berry offered Smith a workout, which went well, but the team and his camp could not agree on terms. At the same time, Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Ian Cunningham reached out because they had lost their top two edge rushers and needed a veteran presence in the room.
Smith—a native of Alabama—said the situation was perfect because it feels like home. He said that his mother wanted him to play for the Falcons so that his family could come and support him.
Smith said he fell out of favor with many of his friends after he retired because he was no longer a big name. He leaned on veteran defensive end Wallace Gilberry, a fellow Alabama native who was playing for the Cincinnati Bengals when Smith was in college at Kentucky.
It was important for Smith to get back to football.
“I can see this as my happy place,” Smith said, becoming visibly emotional and taking an extended pause to collect himself. “[To] come back, play football. I was in a dark place, but coming out, running out on the field, the fans—not only just the fans, man, the joy that I get from winning and just getting sacks.”
Smith has accumulated 70.5 sacks in his career; he is trying to finish his career with 100.
“Any way I can get to it will be good. But I’m happy to be back, man. And like I said, this my happy place, and ready to get going,” he said.
Smith has since bonded with Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who lost his wife to cancer in July.
He has also learned more about being a father in the past year, and has taken more of an interest in being around his children, especially his 12-year-old son. Smith said he has missed most of his life because of his playing career, and is now trying to build that relationship.
Smith and Stefanski first encountered each other when they were both with the Browns in 2023. Smith was traded away in 2024, then signed with Philadelphia in 2025. He played in just 5 games, racking up 10 tackles and a sack and a half before abruptly announcing his plans to retire.
Besides reuniting with Stefanski, Smith provides a veteran presence and much-needed reinforcements to the Falcons’ edge room.
Jalon Walker, the 15th overall pick in the 2025 Draft and another Georgia Bulldog like Ojulari, will miss the entire 2026 season due to a torn ACL. James Pearce Jr., whom the team traded back into the first round to select 26th overall in 2025, is suspended for the first eight games of the 2026 season for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Pearce was arrested in February in connection with a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend.
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