Mock trade sees Dallas Cowboys unload first-round bust in deal with Detroit Lions

Mike Moraitis

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Mock trade sees Dallas Cowboys unload first-round bust in deal with Detroit Lions image

Mazi Smith's days with the Dallas Cowboys might be numbered.

The former first-round pick and defensive lineman has had a very disappointing career thus far and he was a healthy scratch for Dallas in Week 1.

And it doesn't appear things are going to get better in Week 2, as owner and general manager Jerry Jones revealed the Cowboys would go with the same approach in the second game of the season, which means Smith might be inactive once again.

A divorce between Smith and Dallas is inevitable and that has Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox floating trade ideas involving the struggling defensive lineman.

One of those ideas has the Cowboys sending Smith to the Detroit Lions. Here's what the projected deal would look like:

Lions get: DL Mazi Smith
Cowboys get: Conditional 2026 6th-round pick

Because of how down and out he is, getting even a conditional sixth-round pick for Smith would be a win for the Cowboys.

But is this a deal the Lions would even make? It's possible.

Detroit lost Levi Onwuzurike for the season due to a knee injury and Alim McNeill won't be back until Week 5, at the earliest, as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered last December.

The Lions could use more depth on the interior as a result, although Smith is hardly guaranteed to even supply that adequately.

Detroit would have to view Smith as a better option than guys like Roy Lopez, Pat O'Connor and Mekhi Wingo, and chances are they don't. Knowing that, it would probably take more injuries for the Lions to spring for a trade for Smith.

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Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for the Sporting News. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided. He hates writing in the third person.