Lions, Browns’ Depth Chart, Salary Cap, NFL Draft Picks After Za’Darius Smith Trade

The Detroit Lions have made a case to be considered the top contenders in the NFC, and they bolstered their pass rush ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline by acquiring star defensive end Za’Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The deal will help the Lions make up for the loss of star edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who underwent surgery to repair his fractured tibia and fibula last month and was placed on injured reserve. Detroit’s depth chart now looks like this:

LDE: James Houston, Pat O’Connor, Isaiah Thomas, Aidan Hutchinson (IR)

RDE: Za’Darius Smith, Josh Paschal, John Cominsky (IR), Marcus Davenport (IR)

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Lions also acquired a 2026 seventh-round pick in the deal while sending a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Browns. Per Spotrac, Detroit is now down to its first-, second-, fourth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2025.

Meanwhile, Cleveland now has a pick in every round of the 2025 draft including two picks in the third round and the sixth round, per Spotrac.

The Browns also removed Smith’s $605,000 cap hit for the remainder of the 2024 season from their salary cap, which isn’t much for the Lions to add to their salary cap. Smith has a non-guaranteed salary of $11 million for the 2025 season. Cleveland accrued dead-money hits of $4.63 million this year and $16.1 million in 2025, per Spotrac.

By losing Smith, the Browns are left thin at defensive end with a depth chart that now looks like this:

LDE: Myles Garrett, Ogbo Okoronkwo

RDE: Isaiah McGuire, Alex Wright (IR)

At 2-7, Cleveland appears to be accepting the reality that the 2024 season will be a rebuilding year. The team also lost starting quarterback Deshaun Watson for the remainder of the year due to a torn Achilles.

Detroit has the best record in the NFC at 7-1 and has established itself as the favorite to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. Adding Smith to the mix will further boost the team’s chances to achieve that goal.

The Lions will be seeking their seventh straight win when they meet the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football. The Browns will be on a bye this week before returning to face the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 17.