Za’Darius Smith announces shocking mid-season retirement

Damn. Eagles linebacker Za’Darius Smith announced his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons. Mid-season retirements always carry a shock factor, but Smith was still playing at a high level on an (allegedly) competitive team.

Za’Darius Smith called it quits just six games into the Eagles’ turbulent season:

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“I knew this day would come—but now that it’s here, I’m feeling so many emotions I never expected,” he wrote in part. “Who would’ve thought that a kid from Greenville, AL, with just one year of high school football experience, would go on to play professional football in the NFL for 11 incredible years! 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.”

My first question, much like many other Eagles fans I’m sure, is simply, “Why?” Za’Darius Smith ranked 19th out 103 EDGEs in pass-rush win rate at 18.6%, so it’s not like the game has left him behind. It’s not like he was the Eagles’ best player on defense, but he was a contributor the second he stepped on the field in Midnight Green.

In conversations with people not remotely in the know, one common trend has emerged: there’s something going on in that locker room. Obviously frustrations within the offensive unit have been made public, so there could be a lot more going on than we even know about.

If Za’Darius Smith thought this Eagles group had a shot, I highly doubt he’d jump ship. Maybe he just doesn’t love o lace ’em up every Sunday like he used to, that can happen regardless of situation, but I have to think he looked around him and went, “I’m out of here.”

Also, reading the entire retirement announcement, it’s so blatantly obvious he used AI to write it. No sane individual is using that many em dashes in any sort of writing. I don’t care if you’re an Ivy League academic or an NFL veteran, it’s just not the way any human being writes.

I understand that doesn’t matter at all, he doesn’t owe me anything after just six games, but it’s just interesting to note.

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