Jacksonville Jaguars LB Telvin Smith is stepping away from football

After weeks of Jacksonville Jaguars fans being uncertain of his future, Telvin Smith announces he’s stepping away from football.

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith announced on Thursday afternoon that he will not play football in 2019. Citing his family and health reasons, this news is not necessarily a surprise to Jaguars fans, as Smith’s future with the organization has been in question for the last few weeks.

Smith has been in the news quite a bit lately, as he had seemingly ghosted everybody in the Jags organization this past offseason. After voluntary workouts began, not only was Smith not in attendance, he was apparently ignoring any attempt to contact him made by the team.

Rumors about Smith’s future were now swirling but they really picked up after Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell was asked at the team’s post-draft press conference about whether Smith would be with the team this fall and he responded with a telling “We’ll see”.

Not long after, Smith took to social media via an Instagram live feed and said that he’s “never leaving Duval. It’s Duval ‘til we die” after being asked about his status with the team.

While that did provide some fans with relief that the former pro-bowler was staying put, I couldn’t help to feel even weirder about his situation. He just didn’t sound like he was being totally forthcoming about things.

Now, here we are days after that post, and Smith has announced his decision to take a break from the game.

Even though the writing was on the walls, it doesn’t make the loss any easier for the Jags. The former 2014 fifth-round pick was a key piece to forming one of the best defenses in the NFL and was the unquestioned vocal leader of the team.

The Jaguars drafted a similar style player in Quincy Williams in the third round of the 2019 draft and brought in former Packers linebacker Jake Ryan in free agency.

While from a football perspective this is a significant blow to the Jaguars as a team, Telvin Smith’s health and family are what are most important and I wish him the best in his time away. I for one hope to see him back in the teal and black soon.