The Detroit Lions did not sign Za’Darius Smith solely to win regular-season games. They called him in to help them win the Super Bowl. That’s why, in an uncommon move, they welcomed their new defensive end by sending him home first. Smith will not report to the team until Friday, and coach Dan Campbell is unsure whether he will play Sunday night against the Houston Texans.
“He’s been in the league for a while, and (the Browns) are on bye this week,” Campbell said on Wednesday. “He got the call from us, everything got done, and now we’ll let him do what he needs to do, get refreshed, and come back here on Friday.” It helps that Smith already understands what his role will be on the Lions’ defense: rush the passer. That is why the Lions gave up a 2025 fifth-round pick and exchanged a 2026 sixth-round pick for a seventh-round pick.
“It is hard, especially during the season, to get someone who can rush the passer,” Campbell told reporters. “Teams don’t want to give those guys up, which is smart.” The main reason the Lions pursued Smith was that top pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson broke his left leg in mid-October. Despite having played four less games, Hutchinson remains tied for eighth in the league with 7 1/2 sacks and second with 17 quarterback hits.
If that had been the lone injury, the Lions would have attempted to replace Hutchinson’s production with their current roster. The team’s other starting defensive end, Marcus Davenport, is sidelined for the season due to an arm injury. In addition, linebacker Derrick Barnes and defensive end John Cominsky are on injured reserve due to knee problems. Defensive end Josh Paschal, who battled cancer in college, has missed the last two games after having a benign growth removed.
“We got hit in one position — we really lost our starters and our depth,” said Campbell. “That’s why we wanted to attempt to add someone, but it’s difficult in that situation. It’s not like signing a receiver or running back.” Paschal is scheduled to return for the game against the Texans, and Campbell expects Smith will get some snaps. “We’ll see how many packages and how much of the playbook we can give to him, but we will certainly have a place to use him,” he told me. “We’ll just see how it looks when he gets here on Friday.”
The Lions will also see wide receiver Jameson Williams return from his two-game ban. “I’ve learned to be smarter and move smarter in certain situations,” according to him. “It’s big to know how much faith Coach has in me.”
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