Ex-Vikings Pro Bowler joining NFC North rival to kick off deadline day

Za'Darius Smith's third spot on his tour of the division brings him to the Lions.

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99) in the tunnel against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Former Vikings and Packers Pro Bowl edge rusher Za'Darius Smith is headed to the third NFC North team of his career, as he's been traded from the Browns to the division-leading Lions in an unsurprising deal to kick off deadline day in the NFL.

Detroit sent a fifth-round pick and a sixth-rounder for Smith and a seventh, according to reports. That's a big move to land a proven player at a glaring area of need for one of the best teams in the NFL. Smith is also under contract next season.

The Lions, who have won six in a row to get to 7-1, are a Tier 1 Super Bowl contender. They currently sit atop the NFC and have a comfortable lead in DVOA. But ever since losing superstar Aidan Hutchinson for the season, they desperately needed to add an edge rusher.

That's why Smith has made a lot of sense as a rumored target for weeks. He's had his usual success on a bad Browns team this year, recording 5 sacks and 27 pressures through nine weeks. 17 of those pressures came in Cleveland's last three games. The 32-year-old Smith was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Packers (2019, 2020) and also earned that nod in his lone season with the Vikings in 2022. He's still a very good, consistent pressure creator who can line up anywhere in a defensive front.

This addition only makes the red-hot Lions even more dangerous. They still don't have a non-Hutchinson edge rusher with more than eight pressures on the season, so Smith significantly raises the floor and ceiling there. He'll provide a strong complement to dangerous interior pass rushers Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike.

At 6-2, the Vikings are just one game back of the Lions and have an easy schedule for the next few weeks. Does this move, despite being expected, put even more pressure on Minnesota to keep pace in the division by making a defensive addition of its own today?

The trade deadline is at 3 p.m. CT.