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Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith questions outrage over his decision to step away from football

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith wants everyone to “stop going crazy” because he is stepping away from football for the 2019 season.

Smith, the team’s leading tackler the last two years, posted a video on his Instagram story Saturday in which he questioned the outrage over his decision.

“Why is it so crazy I want to step away from the game?” Smith said. “Y’all just chill. Everything’s solid, you feel me? Stop going crazy. It’s getting aggravating. You feel me? Football ain’t everything. Y’all better wake the (expletive) up.”

It was Smith’s first public comments since announcing in a letter Thursday that he is temporarily walking away from the game to “get my world in order.