Falcons’ Za’Darius Smith Briefly Retired From NFL to Care for Sick Mother

Za’Darius Smith is back in the NFL after retiring halfway through last season, and now we know why he stepped aside. Smith, 33, signed with the Atlanta Falcons earlier this month and revealed in a news conference on Wednesday, August 26, that his short and unexpected retirement came due to his mother’s failing health. “I said I wasn’t going to tell the story, but I’m going to tell it,” he said, before recounting the phone call he received from his mother’s doctor, “telling me that she don’t have much longer to be on this Earth.” Smith was playing for the Philadelphia Eagles...

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