The Atlanta Falcons brought in veteran defensive end Za'Darius Smith for a workout on Monday and signed him to the 90-man roster on Tuesday morning. The 33-year-old has come out of retirement to give the Falcons some much-needed firepower off of the edge.
Atlanta lost both of its starting EDGE rushers over the last two weeks. Jalon Walker tore his ACL in training camp and will miss the entire season. James Pearce Jr. has been suspended for the first eight games due to violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
A former fourth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens, Smith has racked up 70.5 career sacks and 176 QB hits over 11 NFL seasons. Not only was he arguably the best edge rusher on the market, but his $6 million salary likely means he will
start for the Falcons in 2026.
A fired-up Smith sent a video message to Falcons fans after signing his contract on Tuesday (watch below).
Let‘s go, Big Z! pic.twitter.com/qTAgt7qEFH
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 18, 2026
"Dirty Birds, It's Big Z. I'm excited. I can't wait. Happy to be in town. I can't wait. Let's go. Let's turn this thing up, baby."
Falcons fans were happy to see the team finally address its hole on the edge with a quality player such as Smith. We'll see if the veteran defensive end gets on the field during the team's joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts this week.
The first joint practice is on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, with the second coming on Thursday, also at 3 p.m. ET. The two teams will then face off in the preseason on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons' new EDGE Za'Darius Smith has a message for the fans











