With the NFL trade deadline looming on November 5th and fans clamoring for more defensive end help since losing Aidan Hutchinson in Week 5, there has been a barrage of names tied to the Lions as trade targets. Perhaps none more realistic than Cleveland Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith. On Sunday, Pro Football Talk reported a deal was set to be done within the next 48 hours—and Brad Holmes has delivered on that report as the Lions acquired Smith from the Browns early on Tuesday morning.
- Za'Darius Smith
- 2026 7th-Round Pick
- 2025 5th-Round Pick
- 2026 6th-Round Pick
Smith, a 10-year veteran is still producing at a high level and is on pace for nine sacks and 51 pressures, which puts him as the second-most effective pass rusher on the Lions, behind Hutchinson- and for the 2025 5th-round and 2026 6th-round draft picks that Holmes needed to part ways with to bring Smith to Detroit, it was well worth it. Smith is under contract through next season and brings a salary cap hit of just $605,000 for the remainder of 2024 and a non-guaranteed hit of $11M- which is significantly more cost-effective than the price tags associated with some of the other names fans were hoping to see (Maxx Crosby, Azeez Ojulari, etc.)
Improving to 7-1 on the season and becoming a more viable Super Bowl favorite following each week, there is a chance that Hutchinson and Smith could see the field together in a late playoff run in either the NFC Championship Game or Super Bowl LVIX.
The Detroit Lions officially get Za’Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns, per @AdamSchefter.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/qbKpUQHvH0
— Detroit Lions on Tap (@LionsOnTap) November 5, 2024