The Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons will link up in Madrid in November to square off in the NFL's International Series, but there's already a special connection between the teams that transcends football. Or perhaps more accurately, it underscores the bonds, brotherhood, and camaraderie that many players miss once they've retired.
Za'Darius Smith had decided to hang up his pads and cleats last year. He'd appeared in five games for the Philadelphia Eagles before rather abruptly walking away. His retirement announcement was filled with gratitude and read as pretty straightforward.
But now we know Smith's retirement was anything but that. And as Smith endured unfathomable grief in his personal life, a good friend in former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry stuck by his side.
Retired Bengals DE Wallace Gilberry helped Za'Darius Smith extend his own NFL career
Za'Darius Smith didn't want to carry on. He addressed the media in a press conference for the Falcons on Wednesday, and was reluctant at first to even share why he retired in the first place. Smith verbalized his reluctance to even get into the whole story, but then he explained himself. Nobody could've anticipated what was coming.
Over the course of an emotionally moving few minutes, Smith explained that his his mom, grandma, and dad all passed away quite close together.
As he navigated the "dark place" that he was in, a reporter asked Smith who he leaned on this spring to get through to what he called his "happy place" of returning to play football. That's when Smith expounded upon his relationship with Wallace Gilberry, as captured on video by Atlanta News First's Kinsey Lee:
"When I retired, a lot of people fell off. When I retired, I wasn't a big-name guy anymore, so lost a lot of friends, man. But I had one friend that was there with me: Wallace Gilberry. He was a guy that played 10 years in the league, and when I was in Kentucky, he was in Cincinnati, so that's how we connected. And he's from Mobile, Alabama, so me being from Alabama, that's not that far. Montgomery and Mobile, it's not that far from each other, so he took me up on his wing...and was there with me the whole time. Big shout out to him."
Highly recommend checking out the full video below.
One of the most moving press conferences I've ever been a part of....
— Kinsey Lee (@kinseyleetv) August 26, 2026
Za'Darius Smith retired in 2025 during his 11th NFL season, just five games after signing with Philadelphia, for personal reasons. Today he shared those reasons. Very emotional and said his mom always wanted… pic.twitter.com/d94v3QD3yT
Smith and Gilberry clearly share an affinity for their home state. That may have been the spark that ignited their relationship in the first place.
Good on Gilberry for taking on a mentor role back when Smith was in college at the University of Kentucky. Smith's run as a starter for the Wildcats spanned from 2013 to 2014, which were the years Gilberry found his most success with the Bengals, racking up a career-best 7.5 sacks in 2013 and a career-high 48 combined tackles in 2014.
How wonderful is it that over a decade later, Gilberry and Smith not only kept in touch, but the long-tenured retiree could connect with his mentee on that front, too. Only it was so much more devastating than Gilberry could've anticipated with all the tragedy Smith endured.
It's awesome to see Smith come out the other side and still happy to be playing football. Hard not to root like crazy for the man. He had to feel even more lonely when, as he referred to, he lost a lot of friends who only wanted to be close to him because of his status as an NFL star. Although he's turning 34 in early September, I wouldn't put it past Smith to show out for the Falcons in 2026.
With Jalon Walker out for the season and James Pearce Jr. suspended until the Madrid game versus the Bengals, there should be plenty of opportunity for Smith to make an impact. That extends beyond sacking the opposing quarterback, too.
Smith should be an invaluable locker room leader in a reunion with his prior Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. He'll hopefully help Stefanski get the oft-struggling Falcons' culture on the right track.
AFC North connections galore around this story evidently, but according to Smith, no one was as pivotal as Gilberry in getting him to this point. You love to see it.
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