The Detroit Lions are serious about replacing injured star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and have inquired about a three-time Pro Bowler currently on a team struggling to stay afloat in the AFC North.
Dianna Russini reported on Saturday, Nov. 2, that the Lions have made overtures to the Cleveland Browns about the availability of defensive end and pass-rush specialist Za’Darius Smith. “Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes have been hunting for an edge rusher since losing Aidan Hutchinson to a season-ending injury.
Hutchinson hasn’t played since Oct. 13 but is still third in the NFL in sacks,” Russini posted to X. “The team has checked in with numerous teams around the league, including Cleveland with hopes of landing Za’Darius Smith.” Detroit struggled to pressure the quarterback last weekend against the Tennessee Titans, though that difficulty didn’t hinder the Lions’ ability to roll over their opponents by a final score of 52-14. Still, Campbell acknowledged the lack of pocket pressure in that game (Detroit talliled just 1 sack as a team) and noted then that the Lions remain keen on trying to improve the edge rush ahead of the league’s Nov. 5 trade deadline.
“We know when the deadline is. We’ve known what that is. We’re still talking about it, and we’re still working through it,” Campbell said. “There’s other ways at creating pressure and, yeah, would you like a little more? Yeah, we’d like a little bit more.
… But believe [me], we’re aware, and we’re still looking at it. But no, I wouldn’t say we’re in panic mode.” Smith has tallied 81 tackles for loss and 65 sacks across the 131 regular season games he’s played in his 10-year NFL career, per Pro Football Reference.
He has tallied 5 sacks and 5 tackles for loss through eight contests in 2024.
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