Chris Smith lost the love of his life a year ago. The Raiders defensive lineman has worked hard to put the pieces back together, and he’s smiling again.
Three weeks ago, in his first appearance for his new team, Smith pushed through two blockers and sacked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. And the feeling hit him harder than he had hit Mahomes.
“I felt like me again,” Smith recalled.
Smith then pointed to the sky.
“I know she was very proud,” Smith said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “Everything I do is for her.”
It was on Sept. 11, 2019, that Smith lost his girlfriend, Petara Cordero. He played for the Browns then and the two went out for dinner, a much-needed date night for the couple after the birth of their daughter, Haven, four weeks earlier.
On the drive home at 2 a.m., Smith blew out a tire and his Lamborghini spun out. It hit a wall along the side of the road…
