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Cleveland Browns trade Za'Darius Smith to Detroit Lions ahead of NFL trade deadline
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- Cleveland Browns trade Za'Darius Smith to Detroit Lions ahead of NFL trade deadline
(This story has been updated with new information.)
CLEVELAND — The Browns decided the time and price was right to move on from defensive end Za'Darius Smith.
Smith was traded on Tuesday to the Detroit Lions along with a 2026 seventh-round pick, the team officially announced later in the afternoon. The Lions sent a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick to Cleveland for the defensive end.
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Smith, 32, had been a much-talked-about subject in the trade rumor mill leading up to Tuesday's deadline. The three-time Pro Bowler was seen as one of the top edge rushers available, the only question was going to be if the Browns chose to move him or keep him.
It came to a head during the Browns' 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers , when a Pro Football Talk report stated the "expectation" was that the deal would be done either Sunday night or Monday. Smith was asked as he left the Browns locker room about the report, to which he said, "Oh, that happened" when initially asked about it, then added "Nope" when asked if he had anything to say about the report.
Smith had been asked on Friday by the Beacon Journal about the rumors which have swirled around him for a few weeks now. Detroit has always been front and center in those rumors.
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"Man, I don't pay attention to that stuff," Smith told the Beacon Journal last week. "I'm in year 10 now, man. If it is a trade there, that's a trade. That's business and that's handled upstairs. That's not in my hands. So, man, I'll just continue to have fun with my teammates and just take it one day at a time."
The Lions have been looking for pass-rush help after they lost star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a leg injury that will cost him at least the rest of the regular season and most, if not all, of the playoffs. Detroit currently leads the NFC North with a 7-1 record after beating the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Smith, a 10-year pro, re-signed with Cleveland in March after having been dealt to the Browns in May 2023 by the Minnesota Vikings . He signed a two-year deal with the Browns, although there is no guaranteed money next season.
The Lions will take on the remaining $605,000 on the deal. The Browns have already paid Smith $11.3 million of what he was owed this season.
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"Za'Darius is an amazing teammate for our team," Browns cornerback Denzel Ward said after Sunday's game. "He's a captain on this team, a leader on this team and a playmaker out there on the field. I love having Za'Darius on the field with me. That was one of my favorite additions to the team when he came on. He's a great player and a great guy in the locker room. I definitely appreciate Za'Darius, the player he is and the guy he is."
Smith was in the midst of being one of the Browns' best defensive players this season. Through the nine games, he had five sacks, six tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits and 23 combined tackles.
The final game of Smith's Browns career Sunday against the Chargers, he was credited with one solo tackle, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.
"I mean, Z's my brother, man," Browns safety Juan Thornhill said Sunday. "He means a lot. Everybody's going to feel it if he's leaving here. It's going to hurt. He means a lot. He gets back there. He brings a lot of energy. He's one of the leaders of our defense, but I wish nothing but the best for him. It is going to be tough. It's going to be tough losing a guy like that."
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The former 2015 fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens — interestingly enough, with a pick acquired from the Lions as part of a deal to send Haloti Ngata to Detroit — out of the University of Kentucky will be heading to the fifth team in his career. After four seasons as mostly a rotational player for the Ravens, he took off in 2019 when he signed with the Packers.
That was the start of a four-year stretch where he recorded at least 10 sacks in three of those seasons. The only season he didn't was when a back injury limited to just one game in 2021, which was his final year with the Packers.
Smith rebounded with a 10-sack performance with the Vikings in 2022. They dealt him to the Browns, along with a 2025 sixth-round pick and a 2025 seventh-round pick, in exchange for a 2024 5th round pick and a 2025 5th round pick.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
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Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Za'Darius Smith trade, Browns trade DE to Lions before deadline
