Former NFL Player Released From Prison to Be With Dying Daughter

Wendell Smallwood Jr., a former NFL running back, has received an early prison release to spend time with his 8-year-old daughter in her final days.

The former pro, 32, has been in prison since 2024 on gun and fraud charges.

Smallwood’s daughter, Mila, is suffering from cancer and has been given only days or weeks to live. Sadly, her chemotherapy treatments have not worked and doctors not only fear but expect the worst.

On August 7, Judge Renard Scott of New Jersey’s Gloucester County Superior Court withdrew Smallwood’s guilty plea and paved the way for an early release which is expected to happen on or before Monday, August 17.

After calling Smallwood’s situation “unfortunate,” Scott told the Delaware News Journal, “This is an illness that is untreatable. His daughter has days, possibly weeks remaining.”

Consideration for Smallwood’s early release was also given partly because of his participation in rehabilitation programs behind bars and good behavior. In September 2025 the ex-running back was sentenced to 18 months for fraud related to a COVID-19 scam where he illegally obtained nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. Smallwood was concurrently serving a three-year sentence for possession of an assault firearm in an unrelated case. 

Judge Scott said the gun charge, “(was) a poor judgement call,” per the Delaware News Journal. Smallwood legally purchased the firearm in Pennsylvania but stored the weapon in his New Jersey basement, a state which does not legally allow possession of the type of firearm Smallwood purchased. New Jersey’s assault weapons ban was deemed unconstitutional by an appeals court in July, which further aided in Smallwood’s early release.

Prior to the court’s ruling on Smallwood’s early release, Yaron Helmer, Smallwood’s attorney, told Judge Scott, “They can’t do anything except make her comfortable now. This is not just a matter of legal semantics. It’s about whether his daughter will hold her dad again,” the Delaware News Journal reported.

Smallwood’s NFL career included time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played collegiately at West Virginia.