The chances of Za'Darius Smith returning to the Lions are starting to look a little bleak
The Detroit Lions made a move that surprised some Lions fans when they released Za'Darius Smith ahead of free agency. From a financial standpoint, the move made sense. He was days away from triggering his bonuses and his void year. That would have brought his cost from $5 million to $11 million. "Yeah, look, it […]
The Detroit Lions made a move that surprised some Lions fans when they released Za'Darius Smith ahead of free agency. From a financial standpoint, the move made sense. He was days away from triggering his bonuses and his void year. That would have brought his cost from $5 million to $11 million.
"Yeah, look, it was, it was an amicable, you know, decision. We couldn't afford it. It's bottom line. You know, that was my communication with him, and he understood that." Lions GM Brad Holmes said at the annual league meetings a few weeks back. "We would have loved to have been able to keep him, but we just weren't able to. But we've been keeping in touch with his agent, and he understands that process."
That last little part got a lot of Lions fans excited that there could be a possibility of a reunion relatively soon. Smith showing up at a Pistons game with his girlfriend, Detroit area rapper Kash Doll, only increased that excitement and, of course, made everyone think that maybe he was in town to sign a new deal and come back.
That was not the case, unfortunately. On Thursday, Holmes said that the Lions have not had any new correspondence with Smith since the league meetings. He said things are in the hands of Smith's agent at this point.
That could potentially point to the Lions maybe making an offer to Smith, and maybe that offer is significantly lower than what Smith is looking for. At the end of the day, this could still happen. But it's hard not to look at this with some bleakness.
‘We’re not gonna reach on a player, just to fill a position,’ Brad Holmes says chasing needs can lead to putting the Lions in a dangerous cycle you don’t want to be in
Detroit Lions fans want something so bad that they can taste it. We all know what that something is; it's an edge rusher. Specifically, an edge rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson, who can be a premier player at the position. They also want that player to be picked first and nothing else makes sense to them. […]
