Smyth embracing waiting in the wings for Saints moment

Mayobridge's Charlie Smyth is flying the flag for footballers hoping to make a successful transfer to the ball game across the pond, but it is one he is cautious to wave too high.

The 24-year-old ex-Down netminder began his NFL journey at the end of 2023, just six months on from being a Tailteann Cup runner-up with the inter-county side. By March he was the first GAA player to sign a contract with the NFL.

On paper it was a fast process and Smyth says it was a whirlwind experience.

"It felt pretty quick. We started in Ireland in November or October of 2023. And, you know, March 2024, you sign an NFL contract," he told RTÉ Sport ahead of the NFL Dublin showdown at Croke Park on 28 September.

The whiplash from GAA pitch to football field is something the Mayobridge GAC clubman felt he had no choice but to embrace and explained he is proud of the challenges he has overcome in the last 18 months.

"Whenever you're in it, you're like, you have no choice but just to grow and be better. I've had to mature a lot as a person, living on my own now, you know, just dealing with things, like doing my own laundry.

"But the on-field stuff, you just grow with it. And, if you don't, then it's going to become too big for you and you'd not be able to handle the pressure.

"One of the things I pride myself on is anything that comes to me... embrace it and not fear it... because if you don't, you're going to be sent home. That's just the reality of it."

Smyth made his first appearance for the New Orleans Saints in the 2024 pre-season and even kicked the winning field goal against the Arizona Cardinals on his debut. After another stint in pre-season games he has been placed on the practice squad, which he says is a luxury in comparison to being a free agent.

"One of my best friends who I lived with was cut. He was one of our punters and he was cut. And he's a free agent now.

"He's not getting paid. He's living back in Nashville, punting on his own. And I'm sitting here. I'm part of the team. I'm getting to be part of the team meetings. I'm getting to be on the sideline with the boys. So, you have to be grateful in a way for that.

"It's not as if you're not good enough for the Premier League and go to the Bundesliga or La Liga, you know. There's only one NFL, you have to be grateful for that. And the Saints still want me here."

The Saints haven't had a winning start to the season, losing to the very team Smyth kicked the winner against last year in week one of the NFL.

Choice placekicker Blake Grupe missed a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter of their seven-point loss to the Cardinals in their first regular-season game.

There is an element of waiting in the wings until the choice player is injured, ill or like Grupe makes a mistake.

Smyth's inclusion in the regular season definitely isn't a given this year, but he is confident his time will come.

"We're on an upward trajectory. But then there's also the competitor that wants to play. [The one ] who is used to playing for Mayobridge, and Down and St Mary's every week.

"You're playing 25 games a year. And then last year you're playing three competitive games.

"And then this year, you know, obviously we've got three. And then we're lying waiting again. So, it is challenging... It's all about the process of just getting better each and every day. Ultimately that's going to lead to good things. I'm confident of that."

There is every possibility of a full-circle moment for Smyth if the NFL continues its global outreach and plans more games in Ireland, it was announced yesterday Kansas City Chiefs have expressed interest in playing on the island.

The Down U20 player never got the chance to play in Croke Park, and says it would be a dream come true but not in the sport he first imagined as a child.

"Every Irish kid's dream growing up is to play for their county in Croke Park.

"I never actually got to play. I think I was part of a semi-final and final of the Tailteann Cup. And just getting to even warm up in Croke Park, it was pretty cool.

"If I'm on a starting kicker on an NFL team, there's a chance that I could play in Croke Park with an NFL shield on. If you had told me that when I was a 15-year-old, I would have laughed. But it is a real possibility now."

What about those concerned that the bright lights and big cheques in America will sway young Irish footballers to leave the GAA behind and target the NFL?

Smyth doesn't seem to want to push players away from Gaelic football but has been involved in grassroots projects in the UK.

"I know there's flag footballs now coming into schools. I worked with the NFL UK and did a little workshop and put together a little bit of a resource now for kids to get involved in flag football.

"I'm never going to say to anybody to play American football over Gaelic in Ireland now just because I know how much it means to everybody back home."

As Smyth said multiple times during the chat, it is a competitive league to break in to, and almost warns those who hope to make it.

"I'm hoping I can break that barrier, then, you know, it kind of breaks the barrier down more for more Irish guys to come in and play. But at the end of the day it is competitive."

The reality also remains that Daniel Whelan is the only Irish player to have made it on to a 53-man squad and he has been stateside since he was 13, but Smyth seems confident there will be more starters coming, himself included.

"There's only 32 jobs for this. So it is extremely competitive. I do believe that there will be three or four Irish guys playing in the league in the next five or six years for sure."

Click here to read article