Za’Darius Smith was, without a doubt, a great depth piece to the Detroit Lions in the 2nd half of the NFL season after the Lions traded away a draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for him. But the Lions haven’t re-signed him as of yet despite his great presence.
In the week 6 matchup of the Lions and the Cowboys, the Lions lost star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a gruesome injury, and many asked the question, “Who will replace him?” For a few weeks, the Lions just had to rely on what they had, with players like Marcus Davenport. But in week 8, the Lions got into talks with the Browns for one of their 2 star edge rushers, and by week 9, a decision on Zadarius Smith was official. But he didn’t play until week 10, by choice of the Lions.
For his time with the Lions, his presence was surely felt. In 8 games played with the Lions, he had 4 sacks and 12 total tackles. In the season, sharing the field with star DE Myles Garrett in Cleveland, and then going to the Lions, he totaled 34 total tackles and 9 sacks on a total of 17 games played. And in his 9 years in the NFL, he has totaled 140 games played, 333 total tackles, 69 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, 2 recovered, and 36 stuffs. This was once again, over a course 9 years, and he has been on the Baltimore Ravens, the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Cleveland Browns, and of course, the Detroit Lions.
The only issue most of these teams have had with Smith was his cost, which is why the Lions are iffy on him at the moment. Currently, his agent wants to get him 23 million for just 2 years of play. And soon, the Lions will run out of cap space, and they will also have to repay some expiring rookie contracts. While star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson is without a doubt coming back this year, an opposite side threat would improve the Lions’ defense immensely. It is also worth noting that Alim McNeil, who has been an interior threat for the Lions, is expected to miss most of the season with an ACL tear. They have DJ Reader for another year, but they have also lost John Cominsky, who was an important depth piece, do to injury.
Overall, with all of these players coming in and out, or being injured, Zadarius Smith, who is a familiar face and a team player, could be worth the big contract. He has shown his team spirit, while expressing that he wants to come back to the Lions and even showing up to a Pistons game repping Detroit gear. The Lions could always trade him away or try to restructure his contract. If not, the Lions would likely try to take a younger edge rusher in the draft.