The Detroit Lions have finally made a move to bring in an impact pass-rusher, with the team reportedly agreeing to a trade with the Cleveland Browns for edge rusher Za'Darius Smith.
The news comes from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Smith, who was arguably the best edge rusher among those realistically available, makes his return to the NFC North, where he has played with two other teams in the division.
The Lions desperately needed to add edge-rush help in the wake of the season-ending injuries to Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport.
Granted, Detroit was able to get by the last three weeks without the former, but it was clear the pass-rush wasn't at its best without the Michigan product on the field, which stood to hurt the Lions' chances of making a Super Bowl run.
Za'Darius Smith trade details
According to Rapoport, the Lions are giving up a 2025 fifth-rounder and a 2026 sixth-rounder and are getting Smith and a 2026 seventh-rounder.
Smith immediately upgrades Detroit's group. The three-time Pro Bowler has notched double-digit sacks three times during his career, including a career-best 13.5 as a member of the Green Bay Packers in 2019.
His third-best sack total came in 2022 during his lone season with the Minnesota Vikings. Smith had a down year in 2023 with 5.5 sacks, but he's on pace to smash that total this year, as the 32-year-old has five sacks in nine games.
Za'Darius Smith contract details
Making the trade for Smith even more attractive is the fact that he's under contract in 2025, so the Lions can pair him with Hutchinson next season, assuming it all pans out in 2024. And, he isn't expensive in terms of bringing his contract in.
Smith had $605,000 in salary left to be paid in 2024, but ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting the Browns will pick up the rest of that. Smith has a non-guaranteed $11 million on the last year of his deal in 2025. Smith is due a $2 million roster bonus if he's on the team on March 14th, per Spotrac.
