The Detroit Lions are reportedly releasing Za’Darius Smith. Was that the right move?
On Sunday, word leaked that the Detroit Lions will be releasing Za’Darius Smith. For some, it’s a pretty big surprise given that the Lions traded for Smith at the deadline last year, and he gave Detroit some much-needed juice in their pass rush. In eight games, Smith produced 4.0 sacks and 36 pressures, according to PFF. To move on from that—with no clear replacement in place—seems a bit risky.
But like most cuts this time of year, Detroit’s decision was almost certainly financially related. Smith was due an option bonus ($6.99 million) and roster bonus ($2 million) that would have pushed his total cap commitment to about $11 million for one season of work—although the contract was formatted to split that cap hit almost in half between 2025 and 2026.
While $11 million isn’t a huge number for a pass rusher, the Lions clearly thought they could be spending that money better elsewhere, and they will not be on the hook for any dead money over the next two years. It’s a move that frees up $5.7 million this year and another $5.2 million next year.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
Do you approve of the Za’Darius Smith release?
My answer: I’m somewhere stuck in the middle. This feels like a tough question to answer until we see how Lions general manager Brad Holmes actually plans to address the EDGE position. There are actually quite a few veteran options that can fill Smith’s role: Khalil Mack, DeMarcus Lawrence, Calais Campbell, Matthew Judon, Joey Bosa, Von Miller, Haason Reddick. If the Lions were to sign one of these players to a similar overall deal in the neighborhood of $11 million, I think I would be just fine with the move. But it’s hard to know if that’s in the cards for Detroit.
That said, I think it’s worth pointing out what Smith was to this team last year. Yes, he was their best pass rusher after Aidan Hutchinson went down, but he also wasn’t a three-down player. He struggled against the run, and Detroit essentially pulled him from some early downs. He played just 82 run defense snaps compared to 241 pass rush snaps (per PFF) and typically averaged between 50-60% of defensive snaps per game. By comparison, Josh Paschal was averaging between 70-80% of snaps in the final two months of the year.
So if Detroit needs a rotational pass rusher that plays a little over half of the team’s defensive snaps, I think should be able to find someone around Smith’s level at a contract similar—or maybe even less—than what they would’ve been paying Smith.
So, in short, by itself, I don’t love the idea of getting rid of their second-best pass rusher off the edge, but there are ample options out there to potentially upgrade, and if the Lions capitalize on that opportunity, I’ll be fine with it.
What are your thoughts? Vote in the poll below and share your specific thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of this page.
