{"id":30696,"date":"2025-08-17T15:43:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T15:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=30696"},"modified":"2025-08-17T15:43:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T15:43:32","slug":"breaking-news-zadarius-smiths-nephew-makes-lions-roster-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=30696","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS: Za’Darius Smith’s nephew makes Lions roster case"},"content":{"rendered":"
Lions WR Jackson Meeks, nephew of Za’Darius Smith, made his case for making Detroit’s final roster with a great game against the Dolphins.<\/p>\n

\"Syracuse<\/p>\n

The Detroit Lions have looked solid during the NFL preseason. Detroit dropped a close game 24-17 against Miami on Saturday afternoon. One rookie wide receiver had a great game, making a strong case for a spot on Detroit’s 53-man initial roster.<\/p>\n

Lions wide receiver Jackson Meeks had a great game against the Dolphins on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Meeks, the nephew of former Lions edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, led the team with seven receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n

Meeks was wide open on a well-designed out route that gave Detroit their first touchdown of the afternoon.<\/p>\n

This is Meeks’ second impressive performance during the preseason for the Lions. Meeks logged three receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons on August 8th.<\/p>\n

The Lions may have to start considering whether Meeks can earn a spot on the team’s initial 53-man roster.<\/p>\n

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and rookie Isaac TeSlaa are all virtually guaranteed roster spots because of their talent and contracts. It would also be surprising if both Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond did not make the final roster.<\/p>\n

Therefore, Meeks’ only realistic path to a roster spot is as the team’s sixth wide receiver. He would need to serve as primarily a special teamer to make that happen.<\/p>\n

Lions fans should keep their eyes on Jackson Meeks for the rest of the preseason.<\/p>\n

Will the Lions bring back Za’Darius Smith before the regular season?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Za'Darius
\u00a9 Junfu Han \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking of Za’Darius Smith, could he join his nephew on Detroit’s final roster?<\/p>\n

The Lions traded for Smith at the trade deadline during the 2024 NFL season. Smith made an immediate impact, logging four sacks down the stretch for Detroit.<\/p>\n

Lions fans never got the chance to see Smith lined up across from Aidan Hutchinson. But could that become a reality this fall?<\/p>\n

Detroit cut Smith earlier this offseason because of his bloated contract from Cleveland. But neither side has definitively closed the door on a reunion.<\/p>\n

In fact, Lions GM Brad Holmes acknowledged that the team has been keeping in touch with Smith throughout the offseason. There seems to still be some interest in a reunion on both sides.<\/p>\n

If Smith does agree to return to Detroit, he would likely do so close to the regular season.<\/p>\n

Next up for the Lions is their preseason finale against the Texans on August 23rd.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lions WR Jackson Meeks, nephew of Za’Darius Smith, made his case for making Detroit’s final roster with a great game against the Dolphins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[49,18,1807,33],"class_list":["post-30696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-detroit-lions","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-preseason","tag-zadarius-smith"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS: Za'Darius Smith's nephew makes Lions roster case - 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=30696\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS: Za'Darius Smith's nephew makes Lions roster case - 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