Za'Darius Smith retired last season to be with his mother before she died

Smith said on Tuesday that family matters led to the decision to step away from the game because it was the only way he could be with his mother during a difficult time.

"I wasn't supposed to retire ," Smith said. "I wasn't going to tell the story, but I'm going to tell it. I got a phone call from my mom's doctor telling me that she don't have much longer to be on this Earth. I let the team know. Obviously they wasn't trying to let me leave, but that was the only thing I had left — to retire. So I retired."

Smith said that his grandmother and father also passed away soon after his mother died last year and got emotional when asked about why he decided to return to action this year.