The Detroit Lions and defensive end Za'Darius Smith have remained tied together despite the team releasing him prior to the start of free agency.
During the NFL's annual league meetings, Lions general manager Brad Holmes explained that the team still had interest in bringing Smith back at the right price. Smith took things a step further during the BET Awards when he told USA Today that he wanted to return to Detroit.
However, at this stage of the offseason, no deal has been made with training camp quickly approaching.
As a result, some analysts believe Smith could land in a place different than Detroit. One NFL analyst in particular believes that the best landing spot for the veteran could be one of the Lions' division rivals.
Analyst Kristopher Knox believes that the Chicago Bears, coached by former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, would benefit greatly from adding a pass-rusher. He specifically listed Smith as an option that would help the Bears' defense in 2025.
Other names listed as players for the Bears to target included veterans Preston Smith and Von Miller.
"Defensively, Chicago could use another pass-rusher in its rotation. The Bears signed Dayo Odeyingbo to complement Montez Sweat, but the edge depth behind those two is questionable," Knox wrote. "Fortunately, proven pass-rushers like Za'Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Von Miller remain unsigned. It would be smart to add one of them before the start of camp."
Smith has played for three of the NFC North's four teams, with Chicago being the only team in the division that he hasn't suited up for.
Last season, Smith totaled nine sacks in 17 games. He played nine games for the Cleveland Browns before being traded to Detroit at last year's deadline. Smith had four sacks in eight games for the Lions last season.
During a recent podcast appearance, Holmes defended the state of the Lions' defensive end room despite many analysts being critical of the team not adding another top-end talent to pair with Aidan Hutchinson.
