Why Lions need more from Za’Darius Smith than his 5 Browns sacks

Defensive end Za’Darius Smith joined his fifth NFL team, the Lions, in a trade-deadline deal Tuesday morning. But all along, there was really only one place he wanted to go. He even said so himself three weeks ago.

“But if I was to go to Detroit,” Smith told Browns beat reporter Scott Petrak on Oct. 18, “I would like it, because I get to play Green Bay twice a year and the Vikings twice a year. So, yeah, that’ll be big.”

Smith got his wish. He entered the NFL with the Ravens but spent 2019-21 with the Packers before following a well-worn path from Green Bay to Minnesota, where he played in 2022. And while the Lions (7-1) have already beaten the Packers (6-3) and Vikings (6-3) this season, Smith will get his revenge games in Weeks 14 and 18, respectively, at Ford Field. Over his 10-year career, his teams are 17-5 against the NFC North, games in which he has 10 combined sacks. Overall, Smith has 65 career sacks, 15 passes defensed, 10 forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

This season, only 16 players have more sacks than Smith (5.0), including Aidan Hutchinson, who had 7½ before breaking his leg at Dallas Oct. 13. Neither head coach Dan Campbell nor anyone else considers Hutchinson out through the Super Bowl but Detroit still needs to get there. Sacks are tough to get in the NFL, and Smith’s five Cleveland sacks were decent production, even on a line with Myles Garrett. However, a former Super Bowl champion said Tuesday the Lions need more from Smith in Detroit.

“Now, he’s going to be seen as the guy who fills in for Aidan Hutchinson, who before getting hurt, was probably one of the leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year,” said Devin McCourty Tuesday morning. “It has to be realistic on what they expect from him. He’s a guy that can’t be single-blocked all game.”

McCourty said Detroit’s best-case scenario with Smith is forcing opponents to slide protection to his end, freeing up his new teammates to win one-on-one battles. In the three weeks since Hutchinson’s injury, Detroit has just five sacks, tied for 20th in the NFL during that span.

“I think Alim McNeil has been having a really good year inside, and a part of that was being able to have Aidan Hutchinson outside and having that one-two punch of those two guys,” McCourty added. “You need Za’Darius Smith to come in and – you don’t need him to be Aidan Hutchinson – but he has to come in and deliver and be a productive player so teams have to plan and prepare for him.”

Smith is expected to make his debut for the Lions when they visit Houston (6-3) in a Sunday night showdown at NRG Stadium (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).

Detroit reportedly will cover Smith’s remaining salary in addition to the exchange of draft picks, as part of trade compensation. The NFL’s 2024 trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.