It came as a shock to many longtime Panthers fans when the team released WR Steve Smith. Many fans seem angry at the team, and we can never forget the little kid who cried at the news. In a twist of events, Smith is now revealing that it was actually his plan to retire from the team after the 2014 season.
“The only people who knew were my close friends and my wife,” Smith said. “This year was actually going to be my last year in Carolina. I was going to retire. I was done. I had been waking up every day about 3 a.m. and wrestling with some things in my quiet time.
“I finally decided and made the commitment to my family. I told them, ‘I’m done. I don’t think I can do it much longer. My knee was sore and I knew all the work I had put into my career and what it would take. I came to terms with it, that this year was going to be my last year ever playing football.”
“When I got released, and how it happened, it made me feel a certain way,” Smith said. “It gave me a little bit maybe that I had been missing. My wife said, ‘How do you feel about that?’ And my response was to start working out again every day after that. I started jogging, my knee started feeling better, and the next thing you know, I got a three-year deal here.”
Smith will be 38 by the time his contract is up with the Ravens, so it’s probably a good bet that he will definitely retire then.
[h/t CBS Sports]