The Detroit Lions’ pass rush suffered significantly due to injuries throughout the 2024 NFL season.
Initially, it was Marcus Davenport who was sidelined for the season in Week 3 after the Lions signed him to a one-year contract in the 2024 offseason.
Then the situation deteriorated significantly when they lost star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson for the season in Week 5.
Due to those defensive absences, the Lions concluded they had to take action before the 2024 trade deadline.
They ultimately exchanged a fifth-round pick in 2025 and a sixth-round pick in 2026 to the Cleveland Browns for Za’Darius Smith and a seventh-round pick in 2026.
Smith enhanced the pass rush by recording four sacks and 15 pressures over eight regular season games.
At present, he has another year remaining on his contract, yet he might realistically be released by the Lions in the offseason.
If the Lions aim to retain Smith for the 2025 season, it won’t be costly for them. His cap hit amounts to just $4.01 million based on Spotrac.
Nonetheless, the Lions can retain all of that money if they release Smith in the offseason.
In a message on his Instagram, Smith emphasized that he does not wish for that to happen.