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Detroit Lions edge rusher Za'Darius Smith.
The Detroit Lions found a bit of help after pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson went down with a season-ending injury in October, landing veteran Za’Darius Smith in a trade deadline deal.
Though some insiders believe the Lions would be open to a reunion with Smith after releasing him early in the offseason, a new report suggests he will be off to his next destination.
Za’Darius Smith Expected to Head East
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox suggested one free-agent signing for all 32 NFL teams, pegging the Indianapolis Colts as the best option for Smith after his release by the Lions.
“The Indianapolis Colts added cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Camryn Bynum to the back end of their defense early in free agency. However, they could use a little more help on the edge after losing Dayo Odeyingbo to the Chicago Bears,” Knox wrote.
Knox added that Smith is one of the best options on the open market right now, coming off a strong campaign for the Lions where he stepped in to fill the giant void left by Hutchinson’s injury.
“Za’Darius Smith is one of the top edge-rushers still available and would be an immediate contributor in Indy,” Knox wrote. “Though the Detroit Lions released him early in the offseason, he performed well in his half-season with the club. In eight games with the Lions, he tallied four sacks, three tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.”
Lions Could Still Bring Back Za’Darius Smith
Though Hutchinson is on track to return from his season-ending injury, the Lions will still need help with a pass-rushing group that has largely struggled outside of Hutchinson.
That could leave the door open for Smith to return to the team. The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy believes that the longer the 32-year-old waits in making a free-agency decision, the better the odds of a reunion with the Lions.
“I’ll be honest, the longer Smith goes unsigned, the more I wonder if the Lions are letting him take his time and would like to remain involved,” Pouncy wrote. “That’s sort of how they were able to land C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Holmes told reporters he didn’t know if they’d be able to sign him, but was in contact with his agent throughout the process. When his market didn’t materialize the way he thought it would, Detroit was the landing spot. So, I do wonder if the Lions had a similar conversation with Smith.”
Lions general manager Brad Holmes recently made it clear that the team’s decision to release Smith — which came just before the team would have needed to pay his $7 million option bonus and a $2 million roster bonus — was strictly financial and not a reflection of his play.
“We couldn’t afford it. That’s the bottom line,” Holmes said.
“But we just weren’t in a position to really keep him at his salary, because look, he played some good snaps for us and he made plays for us when we acquired him, so we would have loved to be able to keep him, but we just weren’t able to. But we’ve been keeping in touch with his agent, and he understands that process, so we’ll just see how it goes.”
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
