The Detroit Lions made a somewhat surprising move earlier this offseason when the team decided to part ways with veteran edge rusher Za’Darius Smith.
Smith was under contract for 2025, but the Lions released him despite the fact that he would have been on the books for a reasonable $11 million or so. That is not a bad price for an edge rusher who tallied nine sacks last season.
While down at the NFL owners meetings this week, general manager Brad Holmes admitted that the Lions simply couldn’t afford to keep Smith.
“It was an amicable decision,” Holmes said on Monday. “We couldn’t afford it is the bottom line… That was my communication with him and he understood that.”
The Lions now find themselves in a precarious situation along the edge. Not only does the team need more depth, it also needs a starter opposite Aidan Hutchinson, and preferably one that can be a long-term solution.
As we wait to see how the Lions plan to remedy their need along the edge in 2025, Pro Football Network’s Kyle Soppe thinks the Kansas City Chiefs could land the 32-year-old in free agency.
The Kansas City Chiefs ranked 27th in sack rate last season when not blitzing, a damning that has forced this defense to get more aggressive with each passing season.
The three-peat didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean that the dynasty era in Kansas City is over, and a move like this would allow for more play-calling versatility on the defensive side than they had a year ago.
The Chiefs could definitely use more juice in their pass-rush. After all, Kansas City tallied just 39 sacks last season, which ranked tied for 18th in the NFL. That has to improve if the Chiefs want to get back to the Super Bowl in a loaded AFC.
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Smith is getting up there in age (33 in September) but showed he still has some gas left in the tank after totaling nine sacks last season, the fourth-highest total of his career.
Smith could definitely have interest in playing for the Chiefs, seeing as how they’d give him a great chance to win a Super Bowl at this late stage in his career.
Smith should garner something close to the $11 million he was set to make in Detroit. The Chiefs have $11.8 million in cap space left, so they should be able to find a way to make it work if they want Smith bad enough.
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