Even after cutting Za'Darius Smith, the Lions were open to the possibility of bringing him back. So, why didn't they? Or why haven't they yet?
"Well, we’re good right now," Dan Campbell said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "I mean, we’re pretty good here. We got (Marcus) Davenport, we got good depth, I like what we got on the interior, too, we got a lot of flexibility and we’re sitting pretty good right now. So we’re ready to go, man."
In eight games with the Lions last season after arriving at the trade deadline from the Browns, Smith tallied four sacks and 36 quarterback pressures. The latter was tied for third in the NFL over that stretch. He's been open about his desire to return to Detroit, and the Lions have had on-and-off contact with his agent throughout the offseason.
But the two sides haven't been able to agree on a deal. It's also likely that Smith is seeking a bigger role than what the Lions envision for him given their faith in Davenport as their starting edge rusher across from Aidan Hutchinson.
Smith played about 60 percent of the defensive snaps for Detroit last year when both Davenport and Hutchinson were injured. He'd be looking at a lighter workload with both of them healthy, more of a specialized pass-rusher.
Asked Tuesday about Davenport, Campbell raved about his performance in camp and said, "Him opposite of Hutch, it’s pretty good right now. I think he just continues on the trajectory he’s at right now, and just take it one day at a time. I’m glad we got him.”
After Davenport, the Lions' top edge is Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had three sacks and 26 quarterback pressures in nine games last season after being signed by Detroit in October. The Lions also claimed Tyrus Wheat last week after he was cut by the Cowboys and are hoping to get Josh Paschal back from an injury in October.
The biggest question facing Davenport, of course, is whether he can stay on the field after missing most of the last two seasons with injuries.
"He’s done exactly what we’ve asked him to do," Campbell said. "He’s got some versatility with his ability to play really in all the packages that we have. There’s nothing more that he needs to show me. I know he can do it all.
"He’s doing everything he can to take care of his body, and he went through a rigorous offseason to try to help all of that, which is a credit to him to put the work out. He’s in a good place right now."