Za’Darius Smith explains the family-related reason why he retired from the Eagles last season: ‘I was in a dark place’

Za’Darius Smith played his last game with the Eagles on Oct. 9, 2025, before announcing his retirement four days later after 11 seasons in the NFL. The former edge rusher posted a message on Instagram just six games into the regular season.

Now, Smith has found his way back into the league, signing a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons last week. In his latest news conference, the three-time Pro Bowler revealed a deeply personal reason for why he retired from the Eagles.

“Got a phone call from my mom’s doctor telling me that she doesn’t have much longer to be on this Earth,” Smith said. “So, I let the team know. Obviously, they weren’t trying to let me leave but that was the only thing I had left, to retire. So, I retired. Dealt with that. 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.”

The three-time Pro Bowler signed with the Eagles on Sept. 5, one day after their season opening victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Smith was brought in to help an Eagles pass rush that was missing both Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham, who previously announced his own retirement. The veteran was fitting in well “bringing that BG energy,” before announcing his departure.

Before signing with the Eagles, Smith spent the 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions. Following his retirement, and entering the 2026 season, Smith got a call from Browns general manager Andrew Berry.

“Shoutout to AB for just calling me and seeing where I was at mentally,” Smith said. “He was just asking me, ‘Do I want to play football again? Did I still love the game?’ And I was like ‘Yeah, I love it man. I need to come back because I’m at my lowest right now.’

“So, he told me to come in and do a workout and we’ll go from there. Got to Cleveland, went through the workout. Everything went well but we couldn’t get the numbers right. So, I told them ‘Just call me back when you figure it out.’ And I guess after working out, Coach [Kevin] Stefanski saw me in the end and they were like ‘All right, yeah, we need another end.’ Because I guess our [Atlanta Falcons] guys went down. So, they needed a veteran in the room. So, when he called me I was like man, this is perfect because it’s close to home for me. … So, I’m just happy to be back and happy to get back started.”

The Alabama native is reunited with his former Cleveland coach Stefanski, bringing a veteran presence to the locker room after the team lost edge rusher Jalon Walker for the season with an ACL injury and edge rusher James Pearce Jr., who is suspended for eight games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

After getting emotional and taking a few moments to recompose himself, Smith expressed how happy he is to be back on the gridiron.

“This is my happy place, man,” Smith said. “Come back, play football. I was in a dark place. But you know, coming out, running out on the field, the fans, not only just the fans, but the joy that I get from winning and just getting sacks, you know.

“I started late in high school, my senior year in high school, I didn’t know how to play football. My coach always told me just to go get the quarterback. Ever since he told me that, I’ve been good at it. When I retired, I think I had 70 sacks. So, now I’m trying to reach 100. Anyway I can get to it would be good but man, I’m happy to be back. Like I said, this is my happy place. [I’m] ready to get going.”