The Lions’ one open roster spot may not be for Za’Darius Smith, Brad Holmes comments point to him possibly not being back at all
Not feeling confident about this one
The Detroit Lions have one roster spot open right now, and I think it’s safe to say that pretty much every single Lions fan out there believes that spot is going to Za’Darius Smith. That makes sense, right? The Lions and Smith have been flirting with each other all summer long.
Smith has said that he wants to be back with the Lions publicly, and Lions GM Brad Holmes has said that both sides have maintained contact with each other since the Lions released him after the 2024 season. There was some thought that maybe the Lions might sign him after training camp, but Holmes’ comments on Wednesday don’t lend a ton of confidence in this happening anymore.
For starters, that open spot might not be for Smith. Frankly, it might not be for anyone outside of the building. Last year, the Lions started the season with 52 players on the roster, and both Lions head coach Dan Campbell and Holmes said they liked having that empty spot for roster flexibility. For the first few weeks of the season, the Lions would put a player from the practice squad in that spot and then release them after the game and sign them back to the practice squad once thye cleared waivers. They did this with Chris Smith a lot. It’s a way to get around using practice squad elevations.
Holmes said on Wednesday that the Lions were keeping that extra spot open for flexibility again.
“The one open roster spot is not for a specific player,” Holmes said. “It’s for the player that makes more sense for us. Whoever that player may be. We went into last year, I think 52, and just gives you some flexibility.”
On top of that, when Holmes was asked if he had had any dialogue with Smith recently, he said that the Lions and Smith have not talked in some time. Holmes also agreed with Dan Campbell’s thoughts from earlier in the week when he said that this is the best roster the Lions have had during their tenure. That could point to the idea that the Lions feel their roster is good enough right now.
Now, Holmes never said this wasn’t happening. In fact, his initial answer to the question was “You know me, anything is possible.” But he did talk about how that final roster spot is for flexibility, much like what the team did last year, and he also said that the Lions and Smith haven’t talked. There’s no reason to smokescreen or hide that from anyone at this time. We don’t have any reason to feel like Holmes is purposely misleading us.
Could it happen? Yes, it could still happen. Am I confident about it happening? I don’t think I would bet any amount of money on it at this time. We’ll see what happens.
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