He revealed on Thursday that the hit he took on the sidelines following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday was among the most excruciating collisions.
The 70-year-old Smith, who has lived in Pittsburgh since 2013, will require surgery to repair the three tears in his right rotator cuff.
Smith remarked, I’ve been hit a lot and been hit hard. Over that, I received a lot of metal in my body. I have to learn to move aside as quickly as possible.
During a Clemson-Georgia Tech game in college, I was hit. I had a tibial plateau fracture, and my knee was fixed with six screws and a plate.
I cracked both my ribs and my L1 vertebrae in my back with that hit I had during Antonio Brown’s training camp. That one ached. Three areas on my rotator cuff are torn.
Following his game-winning interception, Steelers safety Damontae Kazee collided with Packers offensive tackle Zach Tom, sending Smith sprawling onto his right shoulder.
Smith claimed he was unable to get up because his shoulder became numb. Smith was pulled out of the melee by tight end Rodney Williams as there was a brawl around the Steelers bench.
Williams claimed, I just saw him on the ground, unable to get up, and I saw everybody coming over. I simply lifted him up, attempted to move him, and made sure he was okay.
My dog was attempting to scoot out of the pile, but he was unable to move in a real way, so I had to help him up.
Smith, who is infamous for chewing gum nonstop, managed to hold onto the piece in his mouth during the impact.
Williams recalled, “I looked at him, and he was still chewing it.” Yes, he was good, although I’m not sure how he did that.
