Now that all 32 NFL teams have thinned out their active roster to 53 players, placed players on injured lists, and started to settle their practice squads, teams have a much better idea of the strengths and holes on their rosters. Teams who weren’t sure if they needed to (or could afford to) go after a veteran free agent can now address such decisions.

One such free agent who may be at the top of the list is pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Smith has multiple teams checking in on him to contend for his signature. A free agent since his release from the Lions in March, Smith has reportedly been training as he waits for the right situation to come along.

At 32 years old, Smith has remained a high-quality defender throughout his 10 years of play. Stuck behind Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, and Matt Judon throughout his time in Baltimore, Smith didn’t have a chance to breakout until the final year of his rookie deal, when he led the team with 8.5 sacks.

That performance helped him land a four-year, $66MM contract in Green Bay, where he racked up 26.0 sacks in his first two years as a Packer. A back injury in 2021 kept Smith out for almost the entire season as he appeared in only 18 snaps of the season opener and 19 snaps of a Divisional Round playoff exit that year. The Packers released him for cap reasons, and Smith quickly moved on with a three-year, $42MM deal with the Vikings.

A year after Smith put up a 10.0-sack performance in Minnesota, the Browns sent two fifth-round picks to the Vikings in exchange for Smith, a sixth-, and a seventh-round pick. He finished with 5.5 sacks in 2023 for Cleveland, and after a litany of injuries to the Lions defense led Detroit to send the Browns a fifth- and sixth-round pick in exchange for Smith and a seventh-rounder, Smith ended his 2024 campaign with nine sacks — five in Cleveland and four in Detroit.

Now looking to enter his 11th season of NFL play, Smith is a top target for teams needing to improve their pass rush. Many believe the Lions are a likely team to land Smith’s signature, considering last year’s injury troubles and Smith’s eagerness to return. Detroit has kept in contact with the veteran, but with star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson coming back from injury, they feel fairly good about their situation.

There’s still a chance that he lands back in Detroit, but as Fowler points out, several teams are likely to reach out. The three-time Pro Bowler seems to be enjoying the luxury of choice, at the moment, but once the right deal comes around, a top free agent option should find his way to a roster before the start of the year.

Za’Darius Smith remains unsigned, but the veteran pass rusher has already made it clear that he hopes to continue his stay in Detroit. That sentiment appears to be mutual, although it doesn’t sound like any deal is imminent.

[RELATED: Za’Darius Smith Wants To Return To Lions]

While speaking with reporters, Lions general manager Brad Holmes stated that he’s maintained contact with the player’s camp and is hoping to extend the partnership.

“Za’Darius did a lot of good things last year for us and we said we’re going to keep in contact with his agent, but everything’s not just one-sided,” Holmes explained (via Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit). “Za’Darius has expectations, the team has expectations, so sometimes it takes a while for those things to get on the same page. Especially a guy that’s been in the league as long as he has, I’m not saying that he doesn’t want to be in training camp, but if he misses some time, there’s obviously still interest there and we’ve been keeping in touch.”

Holmes seems to be hinting that there may be some disagreement on compensation between the two sides. Smith is coming off a two-year, $23MM extension he inked with the Browns in 2024, a deal the Lions ducked out of before a $7MM bonus was due. Since the defensive end was release back in March, there have been numerous reports connecting the player to a new Detroit contract, with Smith noting that he wants to win a Super Bowl before calling it a career. At the same time, there haven’t been any reports of other suitors stepping up, so the veteran may be running out of leverage if he hopes to secure his desired payday.

Holmes also indicated that there isn’t any urgency to get the player signed any time soon. The Lions aren’t as desperate for pass-rush help as they were when the acquired Smith from the Browns in November. Both Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport are healthy atop the depth chart, and the team is still rostering two of their three 2024 positional snap leaders in Josh Paschal and Al-Quadin Muhammad.

Smith would initially be eyeing a limited role on the 2025 iteration of the Lions, but it sounds like the two sides could be fine with that arrangement. Smith was productive in his short stint in Detroit, compiling four sacks and 10 QB hits in eight games (he added another five sacks and seven QB hits in nine games with Cleveland). Those nine total sacks represented a step forward from his 5.5-sack showing in 2023, and he compiled 10 sacks during his comeback season with the Vikings in 2022.

Preseason injuries could increase Detroit’s urgency to add some depth at the position, and Paschal (who’s been dealing with an undisclosed injury of his own) has been mentioned as a cut candidate. However, considering the team’s on-paper depth, it may still be some time until a deal comes to fruition.

Za’Darius Smith only played in Detroit for two months last season, but he quickly bought into Dan Campbell‘s culture and is seeking a return to the Lions in 2025.

“We both know where I want to be,” said Smith at the BET Awards on Monday (via USA Today’s Tyler Dragon). “Hopefully I can get back to Detroit because the coaching staff and everybody in the front office are great.”

The Lions were in desperate need of pass-rushing help at last year’s trade deadline after injuries to Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill, so they sent a pair of Day 3 picks to Cleveland for Smith, who started the season with 5.0 sacks in nine games. The 10-year veteran posted 4.0 sacks across his nine games in Detroit and was released in March.

The two sides remained in touch through the first few waves of free agency signings, but by mid-April, Lions general manager Brad Holmes indicated that communication had ceased. The team re-signed veteran edge rushers Marcus Davenport and Al-Quadin Muhammad, but neither has been as productive in Smith in recent years. He has logged 9.0 sacks in each of the last two seasons, more than any Lion outside of Hutchinson.

Smith has been durable, too. He’s started at least 16 games in each of the last three seasons and five of the last six, and in 2024, he had a snap share over 50% in 14 of his 17 appearances. Accordingly, the 32-year-old believes his age is more of an asset than a liability.

“When I’m there I feel like a leader and like I can influence the young guys and do great things,” continued Smith before repeating, “Hopefully I can get back to where I want to be in Detroit.” 

Smith also made it clear that he is focused on winning a Super Bowl before he retires. Returning to the Lions could be a way to accomplish that, but money could be a barrier after a strong market for edge rushers this offseason. Smith might have to accept a team-friendly deal to land in his desired destination in 2025.

A trade rental in the wake of what turned out to be a season-ending Aidan Hutchinson injury, Za’Darius Smith made some notable contributions for a depleted Lions team. Detroit, however, released the veteran edge rusher prior to a $7MM option bonus kicking in.

This marked the second time an NFC North team had made Smith a cap casualty in four years, as the Packers made the same move in 2022. That led Smith to Minnesota, Cleveland and then Detroit. The Browns huddled up on a new contract with Smith a year after trading for him, and the Lions are not closing the book on doing the same.

GM Brad Holmes has remained in contact with Smith’s camp about a potential reunion, per Detroitfootball.net’s Justin Rogers. Holmes said the veteran pass rusher’s price will need to come down before a reunion becomes a strong possibility.

“We couldn’t afford it is the bottom line. You know? That was my communication with him and he understood that,” Holmes said. “... Look, he played some good snaps for us and he made plays for us when we acquired him, so we would have loved to be able to keep him. We just weren’t able to.”

The Lions included a 2025 fifth-rounder and a 2026 sixth in a pick-swap deal for Smith at the deadline last year; the terms were similar to the Vikings-Browns trade from 2023. Smith finished with a nine-sack 2024; he registered four to go with 10 QB hits as a Lion. Altogether, Smith was more productive last season than he was in 2023. He also has stayed healthy since a back injury wiped out most of his 2021 season, having missed just two games over the past three years. That said, Smith will turn 33 just before Week 1. And the Lions have a market-setting Hutchinson payment on their radar.

“We had so many of these young players that have been on rookie deals, and we’ve been enjoying the impact that they’ve all been bringing,” Holmes said. “But now, a bill is coming. What you spend this year is going to impact next year. It even impacts 2027. So, that’s the discipline that we have to adhere to.”

In addition to hopeful paydays for Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta will become extension-eligible in 2026. The 2024 deals for Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jared Goff and Taylor Decker will produce higher cap numbers down the road as well. These matters may not interfere much with another Smith contract, due to the nomadic EDGE being close to year-to-year status at this point, but Holmes is certainly cognizant of his team’s evolving financial model.

Detroit brought back Marcus Davenport despite back-to-back seasons marred by major injuries. Davenport is on a one-year, $2.5MM deal. Smith, who has three double-digit sack seasons on his resume, will be aiming higher. But the 10-year vet returning on a lower-cost deal will be a storyline to monitor in Detroit this offseason. How the Lions fare in the draft, as a low-cost Hutchinson complementary rusher will be vital once the ace pass rusher is on a $40MM-plus-AAV extension, will also play a central role in determining if the team still needs Smith for 2025.