The Atlanta Falcons have signed defensive end Za’Darius Smith of Montgomery, Alabama according to Stephan Stroud of Easysportz on Wednesday. The terms of the deal are for one year and $6 million.
Smith is joining his seventh National Football League franchise. He previously played four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens from 2015 to 2018, three seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2019 to 2021, one season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, two seasons with the Cleveland Browns in 2023 and 2024, one season with the Detroit Lions in 2024, and one season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025.
Interestingly, Smith only played five games with the Eagles in 2025, as he announced his retirement from the NFL on October 13. However, money talks and the Falcons successfully persuaded Smith to return to professional football.
You may wonder why the Falcons were desperate to improve their defense with the NFL regular season three weeks away. One reason was because defensive end James Pearce Jr. was suspended eight games last week for an alleged domestic violence dispute with his ex-girlfriend. The second reason was because defensive end Jalon Walker tore his anterior cruciate ligament during training camp.
Throughout Smith’s career, he has been an elite defensive end. Three times in his career (twice with the Green Bay Packers in 2019 and 2020, and once with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022) Smith was selected to the Pro Bowl. He played five games with the Philadelphia Eagles this past season and had 10 combined tackles (seven assisted tackles and three solo tackles), three quarterback hits, two quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks.
