Marcus Davenport
will remain in place with the Lions for next season, but the same will not be true for Za’Darius Smith
. The latter will be released, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler
. 
Smith began the 2024 season with the Browns, having served as a full-time starter with the team the year before. Once Aidan Hutchinson suffered a broken leg, however, adding an edge rusher became a top priority with the Lions. Smith was quickly named as the top target in Detroit’s pursuit of a stopgap, and a deal was worked out in November .
The three-time Pro Bowler was a key figure upon for the Lions upon arrival, logging a 60% snap share and recording four sacks. Hutchinson will be back for the start of next season, however, and Davenport took a one-year pact to stay in the Motor City. This move will free up $5.73MM in cap space for the Lions while not generating any dead money charges. Smith, 32, was due a $510K option bonus in September, but that will no longer be the case.
After playing out his rookie contract with the Ravens, Smith spent a total of four seasons with the Packers and Vikings. His Browns tenure was followed by a return to the NFC North, and after registering nine total sacks last season it will be interesting to see how strong of a market he has. Several veteran edge rushers have been let go recently, on the other hand, and the likes of Joey Bosa and Harold Landry are also in need of a new team this spring.
Once this move is processed, the Lions will have nearly $57MM in cap space. That will leave plenty of funds available for outside additions or moves aimed at retaining more members of a team which posted the NFC’s best regular season record in 2024. Smith played a role in that success last year, but that will not be the case in 2025.