That shipped sailed all the way into the vast sea awhile ago, but there was a point in time where Detroit Lions' fans would have loved to see wide receiver Calvin Johnson un-retire. Before that, running back Barry Sanders was seen seen in the same vein.
Un-retirement talk in the NFL right now is fully centered around future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and what feels like an inevitable return to the Los Angeles Rams for the 2026 season. He surely doesn't want to participate in training camp, but it feels like a matter of time before he's back.
Donald's seemingly imment return to action got Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report thinking about some other players we might like to see come out of retirement this season. Among the other five on his list is a familiar name to Lions' fans.
Edge rusher Za'Darius Smith.
Knox noted how Smith retired in the middle of last season after appearing in five games for the Philadephia Eagles. But the Eagles released him from the reserve/retired list in June, which fueled easy speculation he's eyeing a return to the field.
Lions could consider a mulligan if Za'Darius Smith un-retires
After weeks of rumors, in the wake of Aidan Hutchinson's season-ending broken leg, the Lions acquired Smith from the Cleveland Browns at the 2024 trade deadline. In eight games as a Lion that season, he had four sacks and 40 pressures as a viable fill-in for Hutchinson.
Visions of pairing Smith with a healthy Hutchinson in 2025 were easy. But due in large part to the structure of Smith's existing contract (thanks to the Browns), and apparently not being able to reach an agreement on a restructure, Smith was waived early in that offseason.
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Ideas of Smith coming back to the Lions on a more reasonable contract lingered for quite awhile, until he signed with Philadelphia just before the start of last season. Over 131 defensive snaps for the Eagles before he retired, or quit as some Eagles' fans would surely say, he had 1.5 sacks and five pressures.
Smith can still be an effective pass rusher, and he's always been a solid run defender. The Lions don't need an every-down edge player, just someone who can be a piece of a rotation and mitigate (if not eliminate) any risk of a drop-off in production if Hutchinson gets a little bit more rest this season.
Smith could be that guy, and if nothing else the price should be right for general manager Brad Holmes this time around.
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