Za'Darius Smith was very helpful to the Aidan Hutchinson-less Detroit Lions pass rush after being acquired from the Cleveland Browns at last year's trade deadline, with 36 pressures (according to Pro Football Focus) and four sacks in eight games. But his contract structure demanded to be dealt with this offseason, and he was seen as a potential cap casualty in multiple spots.
According to multiple reports, the Lions are releasing Smith. They will clear $5.7 million in cap space with the move, with no dead money left behind.
Smith was under contract through 2025 via a deal he signed with the Browns, with four void years tacked on to spread out the cap impact of a $6.99 million option bonus he was due on the third day of the new league year. He was also due a $2 million roster bonus on the third day of the league year. He also would have counted for $5.2 million against the salary cap in 2026, whether he was on the team or not.
To further confirm the move, Smith said goodbye to Detroit on Instagram.
Lions could bring back Za'Darius Smith on a more palatable contract
Smith of course never shared the field with Hutchinson last season, and the re-signing of Marcus Davenport should not move the edge rusher needle for the Lions at all. So another move to add an edge rusher is surely coming, perhaps a notable one even though general manager Brad Holmes said "probably not" to the idea of adding another high-end edge rusher.
Smith's contract extension with the Browns was constructed poorly. Void years as a useful tool to spread out cap hit is one thing, but four of them is ridiculous (who'd have thought the Browns do bad contracts?). A restructuring may have just been too tough to reasonably do, so the Lions decided to release him.
That said, releasing Smith wipes out that badly-designed contract. His Instagram post conveys some finality to the move, but the Lions could bring him back on a more palatable deal if they want to.
