The Detroit Lions still have an old friend waiting out there in free agency, potentially available to sign.
That's Za'Darius Smith, the still-effective pass rusher. He's out there with just a week to go before the regular season gets underway.
The Lions are a team that's been pitched for needing a better pass rush opposite Aidan Hutchinson all offseason, but no move has materialized yet.
General manager Brad Holmes spoke with reporters on Thursday and was asked about Smith. When asked if there had been conversations, Holmes said, "Not recently, no."
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He also had this to say about the possibility:
“Anything’s a possibility. At any point, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But the one open roster spot is not for a specific player. It’s for the player that makes the most sense for us, whoever that might be.”
As Holmes alluded to, the Lions currently have an open roster spot. They'll surely fill that before they kick the season off on Sunday, Sept. 7 against the Packers.
Smith was a midseason pickup by the Lions last season, and he had four sacks in eight games.
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Earlier this month, Holmes had this to say about Smith:
“Za’Darius did a lot of good things last year for us and we said we’re going to keep in contact with his agent, but everything’s not just one-sided. Za’Darius has expectations, the team has expectations, so sometimes it takes a while for those things to get on the same page. Especially a guy that’s been in the league as long as he has, I’m not saying that he doesn’t want to be in training camp, but if he misses some time, there’s obviously still interest there and we’ve been keeping in touch.”
At this point, it seems a matter of what team needs a veteran pass rusher first, and who makes the best deal with Smith, who is likely waiting for an opportunity he feels good about.
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