Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Registers fourth sack of 2024
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Smith tallied two tackles (one solo), including 1.0 sacks, during Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Bengals.
Smith took down Joe Burrow for a seven-yard loss midway through the second quarter, which forced the Bengals to punt the ball away on the next play. Smith logged 5.5 sacks through 16 regular-season games in 2023, but he's already up to 4.0 sacks through the first seven games of the 2024 campaign.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Gets to quarterback again
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Smith recorded three tackles (two solo) including 1.0 sacks during Sunday's 34-13 loss at Washington.
Smith's sack Sunday was his third of the season through five games. He's on pace for the fourth double-digit sack season of his career, and he has some IDP allure heading into a Week 6 matchup at Philadelphia.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Good to go vs. Washington
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Smith (neck) was limited in Friday's practice but does not carry an injury designation into Sunday's game against the Commanders.
Smith popped up on Thursday's practice report with a neck injury. While he was limited in practice Thursday and Friday, there appears to be no concern that the 2015 fourth-round pick is in jeopardy of missing Sunday's game. Smith has accrued 10 tackles (seven solo), including 2.0 sacks, through the first four games of the regular season.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: All clear for Week 2
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Smith (back) practiced in a limited fashion Friday and does not carry an injury designation for Sunday's game against the Jaguars, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.
Smith and Myles Garrett (foot) have both been cleared for Sunday's road matchup. It appears that the tandem of veteran pass rushers were simply dealing with soreness. Smith tallied three tackles (two solo), including 1.0 sacks, versus Dallas in Week 1 and will look to keep up his momentum versus Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville on Sunday.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Records sack in defeat
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Smith recorded three tackles (two solo), including 1.0 sacks, during the Browns' 33-17 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday.
Smith ended the 2023 regular season with 27 tackles, including 5.5 sacks, and his solid start Sunday could portend another productive campaign for the veteran pass rusher.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Avoids serious injury
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Additional tests Tuesday revealed that Smith (knee) avoided serious injury during Monday's practice session, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Smith was carted off the field during Monday's practice after sustaining a knee injury. However, additional tests didn't reveal anything serious, and the veteran pass rusher is expected to be fine with rest. That likely means he will be out for at least the first preseason game against the Packers on Saturday, though the Browns could be extra cautious and keep Smith out for the entire preseason, which gives Alex Wright an opportunity to get reps with the first-team defense. Cleveland signed defensive end Marcus Haynes on Tuesday to provide depth in Smith's absence.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Re-signing with Cleveland
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Smith is set to re-sign with the Browns on Wednesday on a two-year, $23.5 million deal that could be worth as much as $25 million, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Smith was traded to the Browns by the Vikings last May and went on to record 27 tackles, including 5.5 sacks, three passes defensed and one forced fumble in 2023. The veteran also played on 59 percent of the team's defensive snaps.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Heads to X-ray room
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Smith went to the X-ray room following Sunday's loss to the Seahawks, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.
Smith didn't have a major impact during Sunday's matchup, as he tallied just one assisted tackle. The nature of his injury isn't yet clear, but the results of his X-rays could help determine his availability for next Sunday's game against Arizona.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Gets in limited practice
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Smith (ankle) was a limited participant at practice Thursday, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
After he missed practice entirely Wednesday, Smith took a step in the right direction Thursday towards being available for Week 3. He'll still most likely need to log a full practice Friday to avoid taking an injury designation into the weekend.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Dealt to Browns
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Smith has been traded to the Browns from the Vikings along with a 2025 sixth-round and seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round and 2025 fifth-round pick, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.
Smith's contract was apparently a key element in this trade for Minnesota along with the Browns' need for more defense. He will go from a 3-4 defense in Minnesota to a 4-3 in Cleveland. The veteran returned to form in 2022 during his lone season with the Vikings by accumulating 44 tackles (32 solo), including 10 sacks and a career-high five passes defended.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Return to form in 2022
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Over 16 regular-season games in 2022, Smith accumulated 44 tackles (32 solo), including 10 sacks, and a career-high five passes defended in his first campaign with the Vikings.
Smith played all but one regular-season game in 2022 after he missed nearly all of the 2021 campaign with Green Bay while recovering from back surgery. The 30-year-old edge rusher was still limited to his fewest number of defensive snaps (735) since the 2018 season, as he regularly appeared on the weekly injury report while dealing with a knee issue. While his production also slowed with just one-half sack over the final eight weeks of the regular season, he did log double-digit sacks for the third time in his career. Smith formed an effective pass-rushing duo in his first season alongside Danielle Hunter (10.5 sacks). However, it's unclear if this pairing will be kept together since the Vikings are currently $24.5 million over the cap heading into 2023.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Questionable, but expected to play
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Smith (personal) is questionable for Sunday's matchup in Chicago, but he's still expected to play against the Bears, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Per Goessling, it's unclear if Smith will travel with the team to Chicago, but the star pass rusher is expected to join the Vikings before Sunday's game. After recording 9.5 sacks over his first nine appearances with Minnesota, Smith has mustered just half a sack across the past seven games.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Deemed questionable for Sunday
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Smith (knee) is questionable for Sunday's matchup against the Cowboys.
Smith suffered a knee contusion during Minnesota's Week 10 win over Buffalo and was limited throughout Week 11 prep. If the star pass rusher is sidelined, D.J. Wonnum and Patrick Jones would be candidates for increased roles.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Returns versus Arizona
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Smith (knee) returned to Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.
Smith exited shortly before the end of the second quarter with a knee injury, though he was able to return on the opening series of the second half. The veteran pass rusher recorded four tackles including two sacks in the first half against Arizona.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Active for London game
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Smith (knee) is active for Sunday's contest against the Saints.
Smith was officially listed as questionable for Sunday's matchup in London, but he will take the field against Andy Dalton. New Orleans is operating with a depleted offense, as Alvin Kamara (ribs) and Michael Thomas (foot) are both out, not to mention Jameis Winston (back). That should put Smith in good position for success even if his reps end up being limited.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Not practicing Wednesday
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Smith (knee) didn't practice Wednesday.
Smith played a season-high 61 defensive snaps during the team's Week 3 win over the Lions, but he presumably picked up a knee issue as well. His absence Wednesday is concerning, especially given he's coming off a season-long back injury, but the veteran pass rusher will still have two more opportunities to practice before Minnesota needs to make a decision on his status for Week 4.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Headed to Minnesota
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Smith signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Vikings on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Smith was released by the Packers in mid-March and appeared to have quickly signed a new contract to reunite with the Ravens. However, for an undisclosed reason that deal fell through, so the former All-Pro pass rusher returned to the open market where he was courted by his former team's division rival. Smith missed nearly all of 2021 while recovering from back surgery, but he did return for Green Bay's final playoff game and even recorded a sack during the loss to San Francisco. Before the injury-plagued 2021 campaign, he recorded back-to-back double-digit sack seasons with the Packers and figures to provide a powerful one-two punch with Danielle Hunter (pectoral) during the 2022 campaign.
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Za'Darius Smith: Cut loose by Green Bay
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The Packers released Smith on Monday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.
The move has been rumored for the past couple months, with Smith previously scheduled for a non-guaranteed $14.5 million base salary in 2022, the final year of the four-year, $66 million contract he signed in March 2019. The Packers signed fellow edge rusher Preston Smith right around the same time, then drafted Rashan Gary in the first round a month and a half later. They'll now move forward with Gary and Preston Smith as their top pass rushers, having signed the latter to a four-year contract extension shortly before Za'Darius was released. The 29-year-old free agent shouldn't have much trouble drumming up interest, considering he had 13.5 sacks in 2019 and 12.5 in 2020 before a back injury limited him to one game in 2021.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Expected to play
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The Packers are expected to activate Smith (back) from injured reserve for Saturday's game against the 49ers, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
The Packers may get two of their best players back from lengthy absences this week, with CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder) listed as questionable on the final injury report. Alexander last played Week 4 and Smith in Week 1, with the pass rusher undergoing back surgery in late September. It's unclear what kind of workload Smith is expected to handle in his first game back, assuming he is in fact activated from IR.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Returns to practice
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The Packers have designated Smith (back) for return from IR, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Smith will practice Wednesday, which is an encouraging step in his recovery from back surgery. Smith has been on injured reserve since Green Bay's season opener, and with the team beginning the postseason with a bye week, he will have a bit more time ramp up his on-field activity.
