There will be no reunion between the Detroit Lions and Za’Darius Smith. According to several outlets, Smith is signing a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Per Jordan Schultz, the deal is worth up to $9 million.
After trading for Smith at last year’s deadline, the Lions opted to cut Smith this offseason in a cap-savings move. Detroit cleared $11 million in cap space over the next two years with no dead cap on the books. Both sides had expressed interest in a reunion, but it’s clear money was an issue. Last week, after roster cuts, Lions general manager Brad Holmes had this to say about re-signing Smith.
“You guys know me, anything’s a possibility at any point. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But, the one open roster spot, we just have one open roster spot. It’s not for a specific player, it’s for the player that makes the most sense for us, whoever that player may be,” Holmes said.
He would later add that there had not been any recent talks with Smith or his agency about a reunion.
While with the Lions for eight games last year, Smith produced 12 tackles, 4.0 sacks, and 40 pressures (per PFF).
The Lions appear to be relying on the returns of Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport from injury to fill out their defensive end room. Beyond that, Detroit has Al-Quadin Muhammad and recently claimed Tyrus Wheat. They are also expecting Josh Paschal back after his stay on the Non-Football Injury list and have Andre Carter on the practice squad.
Earlier this week on the radio, coach Dan Campbell was asked to give a reason why Za’Darius Smith wasn’t on the roster right now.
“Well, we’re good right now,” Dan Campbell said. “I mean, we’re pretty good here. We got Davenport, we got good depth, I like what we got on the interior, too, we got a lot of flexibility, and we’re sitting pretty good right now. So we’re ready to go, man.”
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