One day after Philadelphia’s season-opening win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles are adding to their pass rush by signing free agent defensive end Za’Darius Smith to a one-year deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
Smith went unsigned through the entire offseason after splitting last year between Cleveland and Detroit. The Browns traded Smith to the Lions midway through last season and received a fifth-round pick in 2025 and a sixth-rounder in 2026. Smith, who turns 33 on Monday, was released by the Lions in March.
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During the offseason, there was reportedly mutual interest between Smith and the Lions in his returning to Detroit. In August, Lions general manager Brad Holmes addressed the possibility of Smith continuing his career in Detroit.
“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 said on 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.”
Smith also talked about playing for Detroit again and sounded over the summer like that’s where he wanted to be.
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“We both know where I want to be,” Smith told USA Today Sports during the offseason. “Hopefully I can get back to Detroit because the coaching staff and everybody in the front office are great. When I’m there, I feel like a leader and like I can influence the young guys and do great things. Hopefully, I can get back to where I want to be in Detroit.”
Clearly that reunion never happened, so the Eagles swooped in to pick up the veteran defensive lineman entering his 11th NFL season. Philadelphia will be the sixth team Smith has played for.
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