Za’Darius Smith Will Be Motivated to Face Packers

Having backed out of a contract with the Ravens, Za'Darius Smith will be getting a lot of money from the Vikings to sack Aaron Rodgers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – If Za’Darius Smith was a source of frustration for the Green Bay Packers in 2021, just wait until 2022.

Released by Green Bay last week after earning Pro Bowl honors in 2019 and 2020, Smith on Tuesday agreed to join the Minnesota Vikings.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Smith agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract with the Vikings just days after backing out of a four-year, $35 million deal to return to the Baltimore Ravens. The max value in Minnesota is $47 million; the max value in Baltimore was $50 million.

So, it’s a huge financial victory for Smith.

The devil will be in the details – oftentimes, these early reports on contracts include a lot of fluff or back-loaded money – but the on-paper deal beats the four-year, $52 million contract extension that Preston Smith signed with Green Bay before the start of free agency.

Because the Packers released Za’Darius Smith, they will not gain a compensatory draft pick next offseason.

After opening his career in Baltimore, Za’Darius Smith joined the Packers in 2019 on a monster four-year, $66 million contract. He was worth every penny those first two seasons, when he piled up 26 sacks, 60 quarterback hits and five forced fumbles. He was a driving force behind defenses that reached back-to-back NFC Championship Games.

Last season was a disaster, though. He showed up to training camp with a back injury and practiced only once. He gave it a go in Week 1 and played 18 snaps before being shut down and ultimately having surgery. He was back for the playoffs and recorded a sack on his first snap but did nothing else of note for his final 18 snaps.

So, that was it: 37 snaps, one sack.

Last offseason, when the Packers were wrestling with cap problems, the team restructured his contract to create cap space. What Smith believed he had earned was a contract extension. From that point, his relationship soured with the team. One source believed Smith could have returned before the playoffs but chose not to.

The money notwithstanding, Minnesota seemed the logical landing spot for Smith all along. The Vikings under new coach Kevin O’Connell are switching to a 3-4 defense. To help with the transition, former Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine was named assistant head coach and Mike Smith, the Packers’ outside linebackers coach the past three seasons, was hired as outside linebackers coach/pass-rush specialist.

Za’Darius Smith sought motivation anywhere and everywhere. For instance, when “Madden NFL” posted its top-10 edge rushers in July, Smith was 10th despite ranking third in sacks the previous two seasons. In June, Pro Football Focus ranked him just 13th among edge defenders.

“They’re still snubbing me,” Smith said. “It is what it is. I feel like it adds fuel to the fire, and I’m going to continue to prove myself. I think when I came out of Baltimore, I led the team in sacks and pressures and hits. And then I came here and had a dominant year, and it was basically another snub year. And after last year, I was (fourth) in the league in sacks, (third) with forced fumbles, and they’re still snubbing me. But it is what it is. Like I said, it’s going to continue to add fuel to the fire, and I’m just going to continue to prove myself each and every year.”

Now, he’ll have plenty of fire and fury to throw at the Packers for their two matchups per season.

“He sees something like that, it keeps him hungry," Mike Smith said of those lists. “Some guys, it's Super Bowls; some guys, it's money. Whatever it may be, you've got to find that whatever makes you tick and makes you (ticked) off. My dad used to say, 'You've got to find a reason to hate your opponent.' Sometimes you look for a reason.”

Za’Darius Smith won’t have to look far.