Steve Smith Sr.: Staying retired means saying ‘no’

Since stepping away from his long and illustrious career as an NFL wide receiver, Steve Smith has received numerous phone calls and texts.

The message is almost always the same: “Help me train.” The meaning behind the message is obvious: “I want to learn how to have a career as long and as successful as yours.”

‘People have been calling me’

And Smith’s answer is always the same: “No.” The five-time Pro Bowler who spent 13 seasons with the Carolina Panthers and the past three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens knows that avoiding intensive work with NFL players is the best way to stay retired.

“People have been calling me, ‘Hey, wanted to work out … let’s watch some film … I need to work on some releases,'” Smith told Brad Hopkins and James Lofton on the SiriusXM Blitz. “I had some DBs calling me, ‘Hey, you can give me some line work,’ and all that stuff. When I was at the Super Bowl, and it all (was) announced, I had probably about three or four people text me, saying, ‘Hey, let’s get up’ and I had some agents call me for their guy to help them work their guy out, get him prepared for the Combine.

‘If I’m training anybody, their last name is Smith’

“And I had to take a step back and I said, you know what? If I do all these things, now I’m getting my mind and body to say, ‘I can still play.’ So I had to text some guys and say, ‘You know what? I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to watch film with you and work out and train with you because that means I’m telling myself and my family I’m about to go play again. And I don’t want to go through that process. I’m done playing.’ So if I’m training anybody, their last name is Smith, meaning my kids.

“I’m just going to love on them, and that training is less intense. The goal is so lesser. It’s, ‘Hey, let’s make sure we’re drinking water, fluid, and all that stuff.’ Out there, when you’re training for ball, it’s a different animal. So I said, ‘No.'”