The Atlanta Falcons have signed defensive end Za’Darius Smith, the Atlanta Falcons have announced.
Za’Darius Smith, who somewhat abruptly announced his retirement last October, will now boost a defensive front that has recently lost Jalon Walker to a season-ending torn ACL. This also helped out with the James Pearce Jr. situation, where he has an eight-game suspension following his February arrest after a domestic dispute. Walker and Pearce accounted for nearly 30 percent of Atlanta’s franchise-record 57 sacks last season.
Smith, who is from Alabama, was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft after a four-year college career. The three-time Pro Bowler also has played with the Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles during his 12-year career.
Smith will have a familiar face in new Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski. The defensive end and former Browns head coach overlapped in Cleveland for three seasons.
Smith has 321 tackles, 70.5 sacks, 176 quarterback hits, 87 tackles for loss, 16 passes defensed, 11 forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 145 career games. He’s logged 18 tackles, eight quarterback hits, four sacks and four tackles for loss in nine postseason appearances.
The reason for Smiths sudden retirement came out in an interview recently, and it was a very interesting to hear and learn what just made him abruptly step away. He lost some family members and seemed liked he was a bit lost himself mentally. I could not recommend more listening to that story, it was a really fascinating and touching story. It’s going to be hard not to root for Za’Darius Smith this upcoming season.
Leave a Reply