It’s been a while since fans have heard from Telvin Smith directly but the veteran linebacker broke his silence Tuesday. Through his Instagram page, the veteran made a series of posts and addressed his fans by stating he turned down several opportunities to return to the field but still loved the game of football.
Smith didn’t specifically say who reached out to him to return to the field, however, if it was another NFL team, it could be considered tampering.
As for the remainder of the post above, it’s a little hard to decipher what Smith is eluding to, but some fans have speculated that he’s referring to the game of football not loving him back. In all probability, we can speculate that he’s not talking about his mental health because he told a fan back in October that his reasoning for not playing wasn’t mental health-related.
This is False. https://t.co/80FxEDYXOL
— Telvin Smith (@TelvinSmith_22) October 13, 2019
As many are aware, Smith announced that he would not play football in 2019 early in May after team executive Tom Coughlin indirectly called him out for not attending voluntary workouts and the team drafted Quincy Williams to potentially replace him. Of course, that blindsided fans because Smith was just a year away removed from a Pro Bowl nod and was one of their most productive players, racking up 586 career tackles, 26 pass breakups, and 7.5 sacks.
Smith also offered some thoughts on the recent passing of NBA legend Kobe Bryant as he too is the father of several children. Smith specifically mentioned wanting to get things right for his youngest child — his daughter, who is just five years old.
Clearly, his series of posts indicate that he won’t be returning to the Jags anytime soon. However, there may be updates on his well being down the road as he could be active more on social media in 2020.