Marcus Davenport will remain in place with the Lions for next season, but the same will not be true for Za’Darius Smith. The latter will be released, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. 
Smith began the 2024 season with the Browns, having served as a full-time starter with the team the year before. Once Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken leg, however, adding an edge rusher became a top priority with the Lions. Smith was quickly named as the top target in Detroit’s pursuit of a stopgap, and a deal was worked out in November.
The three-time Pro Bowler was a key figure upon for the Lions upon arrival, logging a 60% snap share and recording four sacks. Hutchinson will be back for the start of next season, however, and Davenport took a one-year pact to stay in the Motor City. This move will free up $5.73MM in cap space for the Lions while not generating any dead money charges. Smith, 32, was due a $510K option bonus in September, but that will no longer be the case.
After playing out his rookie contract with the Ravens, Smith spent a total of four seasons with the Packers and Vikings. His Browns tenure was followed by a return to the NFC North, and after registering nine total sacks last season it will be interesting to see how strong of a market he has. Several veteran edge rushers have been let go recently, on the other hand, and the likes of Joey Bosa and Harold Landry are also in need of a new team this spring.
Once this move is processed, the Lions will have nearly $57MM in cap space. That will leave plenty of funds available for outside additions or moves aimed at retaining more members of a team which posted the NFC’s best regular season record in 2024. Smith played a role in that success last year, but that will not be the case in 2025.
I’d rather have Z’Darius Smith. At least he’s reliable..
They kept the wrong DE.
I assume Smith will cost two or three times as much, so it’s not a strict either/or thing.
Wasn’t smith on the books for 5M and they signed Davenport to 4M. Sounds either or to me.
He probably wasn’t willing to play out a lame duck year on a few million with zero guarantees. The Browns have $14 million of dead money on their cap for him this year. The Lions acquired him as a rental. Maybe they couldn’t agree on a new deal with him. Maybe they didn’t want to.
Theres a bunch of void years on his contract which means they would have had a 5.7 mil cap hit this year and then a 5.2 mil dead cap in 2026, which they avoid by cutting him now. In theory they can cut him and resign him and it could be better for both sides.
I didn’t think he was great with the Lions, kind of seemed like just a guy, but at a reasonable price I’d take him
If they draft an edge as well, Smith could be effective for the Bears, opposite Sweat.
Only reason to sign with Bears is so he can play for all 4 teams in that division during career.
I’m hoping for that. Larry Ogunjobi fell one team short by missing the Ravens, so Smith is our next best bet.
Brad Holmes thinking he’s the smartest man in the world again. We are going to see Davenport for 2 games and be in the same position next year.
Lot of teams could use him. He’s another logical fit for a typical Ravens late career edge rusher who doesn’t affect comp pick status.
From what the Lions blogs are saying, this has been planned for quite awhile. He was going to be cut them resigned for a lower salary. Not saying it’s 100% but that’s what I read from multiple columnists. Hoping it’s true b/c Smith is a much better option than Marcus “I play 3 games a year” Davenport, who is about as durable as a wet paper bag!
I agree. As cool as it would be to Smith complete the NFC North cycle, having him back in Detroit could give them a specialized pass rusher who can start or rotate in.
Given the catastrophic injury issues last year, the installation of a new coordinator, and Davenport’s lack of signature starter impact thus far, it seems prudent to hold on to Smith. Having Davenport and Cominsky as a dirty work EDGE player would make for a great rotation outside. Hutchinson could get relief as well, coming off his injury, with proven weapons behind him, or Detroit could even field NASCAR style rush packages with multiple EDGES. It just seems like a good idea to me to retain Smith for all of those reasons, especially with the issues Detroit had last year.