Edge rusher Za'Darius Smith made it clear the he wants to be back with the Detroit Lions for the 2025 NFL season.
The Detroit Lions' pass rush was hit hard by injuries during the 2024 NFL season.
First it was Marcus Davenport who went down for the year in Week 3 after the Lions had brought him in on a one-year deal during the 2024 offseason.
Then things got much worse as they lost star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson for the year in Week 5.
With those absences on the defense, the Lions decided they needed to make something happen ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
They ended up trading a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round picket the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Za'Darius Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Smith gave the pass rush a boost with four sacks and 15 pressures in eight regular season games.
Now he still has another year left on his contract, but he could conceivably be let go by the Lions during the offseason.
Smith isn't going to be expensive for the Lions if they want to keep him for the 2025 season. He only carries a cap hit of $4.01 million according to Spotrac.
Detroit Lions edge rusher Za'Darius Smith
Sergio Estrada-Imagn images
However, the Lions can save every dollar of that if they let Smith go during the offseason.
In a post on his Instagram account, Smith made it clear that he doesn't want that to be the case.
"2024 didn’t go as planned at all; we fell short of the outcome we had planned for! 2025 gives us another opportunity to adjust and go for that championship! I enjoyed every moment with my boys, and even though some faces have changed for the new season, I hope to be a part of this great organization for the future!"
The Lions selecting an edge rusher in the early portion of this year's NFL Draft has been a pretty popular prediction recently, but even if they do that, it still might be in their best interest to hold on to Smith.
He was a solid contributor in the half of a season that he played for the Lions and would give the team some insurance in case anybody they add isn't able to make an immediate impact.
Over the whole 2024 season, Smith had 25 pressures and nine sacks. It's not easy to find production like that with a $4 million cap hit attached.
Improving the pass rush should still be a focus for the Lions' offseason, but they should be able to do that while also keeping Smith around for one more year.
