After Aidan Hutchinson suffered a season-ending broken leg in Week 6 of the 2024 season, the Detroit Lions were in the market for a pass rusher to the point they had no real leverage in trade talks. General manager Brad Holmes would eventually talk about how arduous the process to acquire Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline was.
Smith delivered pretty much as hoped though, with four sacks over eight games as a Lion to finish that season. It was then easy to envision he and a healthy Hutchinson teaming up in 2025 to finally give Detroit a viable edge rusher duo.
But the structure of Smith's contract (thanks, Browns) made it difficult, if not impossible, to retain him without a significant restructure. And if his history is any indication, he was likely not too keen on taking a pay cut.
So when Holmes said, "we couldn't afford it" regarding keeping Smith, as flimsy as it seemed to be then and still seems now, there was a grain of truth to it. What the Lions felt they needed to do to keep him and what he wanted financially likely didn't align, and that transferred to the idea of Smith re-signing after being let go.
But Smith was also pretty clear about his desire to remain a Lion, so there was a gap somewhere that has never quite been made clear. The Lions instead re-signed Marcus Davenport to fill their edge rusher void, and we know how that turned out.
Za'Darius Smith will get his chance to face the Lions this season
After apparently flirting with a return to the Browns, Smith has signed with the Atlanta Falcons after having a workout with them. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, it's a one-year, $6 million deal worth "up to" $8 million as the Falcons "made sure the contract was strong enough to get him to sign."
That also means Smith, as long as he stays healthy and doesn't bail on the Falcons like he did the Philadelphia Eagles last season, will get to face the Lions this season.
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The Dirty Birds will welcome the Lions to Atlanta for a Week 13 game on Sunday, Dec. 6. By then we'll have some idea if the Lions have finally found a viable edge rusher opposite Hutchinson, be it rookie Derrick Moore, free agent signing D.J. Wonnum (or dare we say both), or not.
It's a stretch to call a game against the Lions a true, all-out revenge game for Smith. But he should have some motivation to show them what they've missed, and circumstances could then create some regret in the Lions' front office.
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