CLEVELAND — Browns defensive end Chris Smith says he will play Monday Night Football, days after losing his girlfriend in a tragic car accident.
“I am going to play tonight because it is something she would want me to do,” Smith said in a statement. “She would want me to keep doing what I love and stay strong. I play for her tonight. She is my why.”
On Wednesday Petara Cordero, 26, was killed. She was the mother of Smith’s daughter, Haven, just 4 weeks old.
Smith had described the girl as his “beautiful gift in this world.” The family had been over the moon.
But then the couple was in their Lamborghini on I-90 when a tire blew and the car struck the center median wall. Cordero got out and was standing on the shoulder, when a Mazda slammed into the sports car and then into her. She died at the hospital, and police have still not decided on charges against the Mazda driver.
This weekend, Smith issued his first public words in a touching message on Instagram.
“God has a plan for all of us we can’t understand,” he wrote, calling Cordero his best friend and the mother of his beautiful daughter.
'LOVE YOU BABY ❤️🙏🏾': Browns DE Chris Smith posts heartfelt tribute after girlfriend's death in car crash
The team also confirms Smith will serve as one of the Browns' captains for tonight's contest in New Jersey.