After acquiring Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline, and in light of the Browns being on their bye week, the Detroit Lions gave the veteran defensive end a couple days off. So his Lions' debut (in uniform) did not come in Week 10 against the Houston Texans, but he did make an impact.
Smith is expected to play on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During his press conference before Friday's practice, head coach Dan Campbell talked about the impact Smith can have that may not be easy to see.
"I think that the guy is, there's things that he's gonna be able to do in one-on-ones that I do believe are gonna show up. But I think there's gonna be a lot that fans don't see that's gonna pay huge dividends for us," Campbell said. "Even yesterday, just the third downs and watching him work, man he's a pro...Would I love to see six sacks? Yeah, absolutely. But no, so don't come out of this game going, 'He didn't get six sacks. What are we doing?' He's gonna help us, and that's gonna be evident," Campbell explained. "It was good to see him yesterday, he's gonna help us big time.".
Dan Campbell reveals plan for Za'Darius Smith vs. Jaguars
Campbell was then asked about Smith possibly being on a "pitch count" against the Jaguars on Sunday.
"We'll work him in, we'll make sure we use him appropriately," Campbell said. "Look, he's gonna play on all the downs, we're gonna maximize what he's got in the tank to help us. I guess if you, pitch count? Yes, somewhere in there. We'll get him some."
Campbell didn't necessarily go all the way in on the idea Smith would be on a snap count on Sunday, as in putting a number on it, while acknowledged being sure to "use him appropriately." So Smith likely won't be playing close to every defensive snap on Sunday, and he'll be deployed somewhat situationally.
If the Lions handle the Jaguars like they're expected to, that will surely have some impact on how much Smith plays too. Ultimately, it's no surprise that Smith won't play 100 percent of the Lions' defensive snaps in his first game played for the team. But he should be impactful when he is on the field.