Eagles’ Za’Darius Smith announces his retirement from NFL
As the Eagles as stretched pretty thin on defense, they will now have more pieced to replace as veteran edge rusher Za’Darius Smith has decided his time in the NFL has come to an end.
Smith announced his retirement in a post to his Instagram account on Monday.
“I knew this day would come — but now that it’s here, I’m feeling so many emotions I never expected.” Smith captioned on Instagram. “This game has given me the opportunity to meet great coaches, compete alongside some of the best players ever, and represent some of the greatest organizations in the league. Football has transformed my life and my family’s lives forever — and for that, I’m forever grateful.
This career has taken me across the world — from earning my first passport stamp to visit countries I only saw on maps, to helping me start a foundation that gives back to my community. There have been challenges along the way, but the rewards have outweighed them all and helped me learn, grow, and evolve as a man.”
Smith also gives an extreme amount of credit to his fans, detailing that the amount of fans he’s gained from the different markets he’s played in, has allowed him to maintain such longevity in the NFL to begin with.
“And to the fans — the biggest thank you of all. To every fan from each organization I represented: thank you, thank you, thank you for everything! From wearing my jerseys, collecting my cards, sending letters, sharing your opinions (good and tough ones alike), and most importantly — showing love. I felt it all.” Smith captioned.
Smith signed with the Eagles last month and recorded 1.5 sacks while starting two of the five games he played for the team.
Those starts came in Weeks 4 and 5; however, Smith played a season-low 17 snaps in last Thursday’s loss to the Giants. Despited his low-usage in the game, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had some positive things to say about Smith and his role on this Eagles defense.
“Yeah, obviously the game’s not too big for him,” Fangio said in a press conference. “He’s been out there a lot in his career. [He] made a critical sack last week, which pushed [Denver] out of field goal range. I think he’s getting better and better every week.”
Upon the retirement of Smith, the Eagles are still without the injured Nolan Smith, which leaves Joshua Uche, Jalyx Hunt, Patrick Johnson, and Azeez Ojulari as the edge rushing options in Philadelphia.
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