The Detroit Lions are releasing exceptional defensive end Za\u2019Darius Smith before the 2025 NFL free agency period.<\/p>\n
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According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Lions are parting ways with Za’Darius Smith, terminating the last season of the two-year, $23 million contract he agreed to with the Cleveland Browns last year. Smith will enter free agency, which starts officially on Wednesday<\/p>\n
Releasing Smith allows the Lions to save $5.7 million in salary cap space. GM Brad Holmes obtained the ex-Green Bay Packers star from the Browns before the trade deadline, giving up fifth and sixth-round picks in 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old Smith recorded five sacks while in Cleveland and added four more in eight games with the Lions after the trade. Throughout his career, he has notched 8.5 sacks on five occasions, with four of those seasons occurring within the past six years.<\/p>\n
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Due to his steady performance and the continual demand for reliable pass rushers, Za\u2019Darius Smith is likely to attract significant attention when free agency starts. Possessing nine playoff games of experience certainly helps as well.<\/p>\n
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The Detroit Lions are releasing exceptional defensive end Za\u2019Darius Smith before the 2025 NFL free agency period. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Lions are parting ways with Za’Darius Smith, terminating the last season of the two-year, $23 million contract he agreed to with the Cleveland Browns last year. Smith will enter free agency, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n