Since arriving in Detroit at the trade deadline, Za'Darius Smith has been everything it was hoped he'd be. His veteran presence was clear immediately without even being in uniform, and in three games as a Lion he has two sacks, one tackle for loss and Pro Football Focus crediting him with 17 quarterback pressures (nine in Week 13).
Without Aidan Hutchinson, Smith has quickly become the Lions best available pass rusher. With a tough stretch of the schedule upcoming, the Minnesota Vikings (10-2) and Green Bay Packers (9-3) on their heels and the defensive line is getting more injury-thinned, Smith's presence and production is gaining importance with each passing week.
The Lions are Smith's fifth team in 10 NFL seasons, and he has filled three legs of the NFC North tour now. After spending his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, he spent three seasons the Packers (2019-2021), though he only played one game in his final season there due to a back injury. He then spent the 2022 season with the Vikings, with 10 sacks as he earned a Pro Bowl nod and got votes for Comeback Player of the Year. The Vikings traded him to the Cleveland Browns in 2023.
One revenge game Za'Darius Smith had eyes on is now here
In mid-October, after Hutchinson's leg injury and as trade speculation started to tie him to the Lions, Smith said he hadn't heard about that trade speculation. But here's what he eventually said to Scott Petrak of the Chronicle-Telegram about the idea of being traded to Detroit.
"If I was to go to Detroit, I would like it, because I get to play Green Bay twice a year and the Vikings twice a year. So, yeah, that’ll be big.”
By the time the Lions acquired Smith from the Browns, paying off all the rumors and reports that foreshadowed the move, they had already played the Vikings and the Packers once each. And they had just played Green Bay the Sunday before the trade deadline. But his broader "revenge game" notion still stood, and it was going to apply if the Lions did acquire him.
Thursday night's game against the Packers is huge for both teams. Smith will be challenged going against offensive tackles Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker (both top-15 tackles by PFF pass blocking grade), and an offensive line that collectively has PFF's best pass blocking grade with just 15 sacks allowed on the season.
Smith clearly had revenge games on his mind weeks ago, when the idea of being traded to the Lions came up. The first of two he'll get is now here, on the primetime stage against the Packers with plenty of eyes on how he performs.