CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are 2-7 on the season after Sunday’s 27-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and with the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, the Browns became sellers, sending defensive end Za’Darius Smith in a trade to the Detroit Lions, a league source confirmed.
In exchange for Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick, the Browns will receive a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick.
The Browns had acquired Smith in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings before the 2023 season, receiving the pass rusher, a 2025 6th round pick and a 2025 7th round pick while sending the Vikings a 2024 5th round pick and a 2025 5th round pick.
Last season with the Browns, Smith played in 16 games, recording 27 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, one forced fumble and three passes defended. His contributions on the line opposite of defensive end Myles Garrett helped aid Garrett in his Defensive Player of the Year award-winning season.
Through nine games this season, Smith has already notched 23 total tackles, five sacks and 24 quarterback pressures. Losing games was frustrating for the entire team, including Smith, who had never been on a team that had started their season 2-7.
The 32-year-old pass rusher had been drawing the interest of teams around the league looking to bolster their defense with a proven veteran. With the Browns season falling apart, Cleveland opted to acquire draft picks with an eye toward the future, and Smith landed with a Super Bowl contender.
After Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, Smith was in the locker room, with many on the team having heard rumors that a trade involving him was imminent. Smith dapped up teammates and walked out of the locker room, declining to speak to the media before heading out.
His teammates seemed to insinuate they knew a trade was happening when asked about Smith, giving the pass rusher plenty of praise for the player and person he’s been in his time with the Browns.
“Z’s my brother man. He means a lot. Everybody's going to feel it, if he's leaving here, it's going to hurt,” said safety Juan Thornhill after the game. “He gets back there. He brings a lot of energy. He's one of the leaders of our defense. But I wish nothing but the best for him. it's going to be tough, it's going to be tough losing a guy like that.”
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward said trading for Smith back in 2023 was one of his favorite moves the organization has made, highlighting his presence both on the field and off it.
“Love having Za’Darius on the field with me. That was one of my favorite additions to the team when he came on,” Ward said. “He's a great player and a great guy in the locker room and definitely appreciates Za’Darius, the player he is and the guy he is, he means a lot.”
The Browns team won’t look the same coming out of the bye week, but the players are still looking for wins with their return to game action in the Week 11 matchup with the New Orleans Saints.
Earlier in the week, we reported a trade of this sort was a real possibility following the team's poor start.
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