{"id":19637,"date":"2025-04-04T16:47:30","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=19637"},"modified":"2025-04-04T16:47:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:47:30","slug":"weve-been-keeping-in-touch-detroit-lions-eye-reunion-with-pass-rusher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=19637","title":{"rendered":"“We’ve Been Keeping In Touch”: Detroit Lions Eye Reunion With Pass Rusher"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Detroit<\/p>\n

Jan 14, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Footballs and a Detroit Lions helmet before a 2024 NFC wild card game between the Lions and Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n

The Detroit Lions acquired Za\u2019Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns during the NFL Trade Deadline to provide a veteran presence to an already banged-up pass-rushing unit. Smith played their final eight games and recorded 12 tackles, three TFLs, 36 pressures, ten QB hits, and four sacks. He finished the year with 35 tackles, nine TFLs, 63 pressures, 17 QB hits, and nine sacks in 17 games.<\/p>\n

The Detroit Lions moved on from their veteran Pro Bowler<\/h2>\n
\""We've
Detroit Lions defensive end Za\u2019Darius Smith (99) celebrates 31-9 win over Minnesota Vikings as he exits the field at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Za\u2019Darius Smith entered the final year of his contract. He was scheduled to earn a $1.5 million base salary, a $2 million roster bonus and a $6.99 million option bonus due on the third day of the new league year, a per-game roster bonus amounting to $510,000, and a $5,727,500 cap hit in 2025. Because his roster bonus was coming up, and they couldn\u2019t reach a resolution, the Lions released Smith in early March, roughly a week before the due date.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Predicting Each NFC North Team\u2019s Most Likely Cap Casualty for 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Detroit Lions eye reunion with pass rusher<\/h2>\n
\""We've
Detroit Lions Executive Vice President & General Manager Brad Holmes speaks to the press about their season, how it ended and what\u2019s next at the Detroit Lions headquarters and training facility in Allen Park, Mich., Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Colton Pouncy of The Athletic,\u00a0<\/em>during their annual NFL League Meetings, Brad Holmes told the media that the Lions would have loved to keep Za\u2019Darius Smith, but his contract didn\u2019t allow it to happen. Holmes went on to say that they have been in touch with Smith\u2019s agents, and a reunion is possible. Here\u2019s what he had to say about the subject matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would have loved to been able to keep him. We just weren\u2019t able to,\u201d Holmes said via Pouncy. \u201cBut we\u2019ve been keeping in touch with his agent and he understands that process. We\u2019ll just see how it goes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the Detroit Lions\u2019 EDGE depth<\/h2>\n
\""We've
Feb 6, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Aidan Hutchinson on the red carpet before Super Bowl LIX NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Lions acquired Za’Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns during the NFL Trade Deadline to provide a veteran presence to an already banged-up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n"We've Been Keeping In Touch": Detroit Lions Eye Reunion With Pass Rusher - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=19637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""We've Been Keeping In Touch": Detroit Lions Eye Reunion With Pass Rusher - 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