The Lions are doing what they can to fill that Aidan Hutchinson-sized hole in their defense for their Super Bowl push.
Detroit is acquiring pass rusher Za’Darius Smith and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick from the Browns in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick, according to ESPN.
Smith has five sacks in nine games this season and 65 in his 10-year career that also included stops with the Ravens, Packers and Vikings.
Za’Darius Smith is going from one of the NFL’s worst teams to one of the best. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConThe 7-1 Lions enter Week 10 with the NFC’s best record and have the makings of a team that can make another deep run after last season’s team reached the NFC title game.
Detroit is tied for the fourth-fewest points allowed, but postseason games can be predicated on which teams can pressure the opposing quarterback the best.
The Lions are tied for 18th in the NFL with 20 sacks, which is influenced by losing Hutchinson for possibly the remainder of the season due to a fractured tibia and fibula.
Hutchinson, despite playing in just five games, leads the Lions with 7.5 sacks.
The Lions have registered a 30.6 percent pass-rush win rate in Hutchinson’s absence, per ESPN, and have tallied just one sack spanning their last two games.
Hutchinson is hopeful he can return for the Super Bowl, should the Lions make it that far, according to ESPN, but it’s hard to project if that’s feasible and how well he could contribute at that point.
For Cleveland (2-7), this trade marks the second featuring a veteran now that its season is all but over.
The Browns previously sent Amari Cooper to the Bills and now have removed a key cog from a defense that shined last season but has not been nearly as effective this season.
Smith is now headed back to the NFC North for the third time in his 10-year career.
The 32-year-old previously played for the Packers from 2019-21 before joining the Vikings in 2022. Minnesota traded him to the Browns in May 2023.
Things are going quite well for the Lions. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConSmith signed a two-year, $23 million deal with the Browns this offseason, meaning Cleveland created some financial flexibility while the Lions have the option to retain him for 2025.
He told Cleveland.com last week he would excited to join a Super Bowl contender like Detroit.
“Obviously it would, but, hey, it’s football,” Smith said. “I still get paid.”
