Za'Darius Smith was all smiles after his first practice with the Lions. He began his meeting with the media by thanking Browns GM Andrew Berry for trading him to Detroit and ended it with, "What up, doe?"
The three-time Pro Bowl defensive end is thrilled to be joining a contender that needs him.
"I was happy, man. I got the phone call from the GM in Cleveland and he was just telling me, 'Z, we got it done for you.' And I was like, 'We got it done? So we going to Detroit?' And he was like 'Yeah, you're going to Detroit.' So, thank them for having me for two years and trading me here to get a chance to go do something great," said Smith.
Smith had nothing but good things to say about his time with the Browns, but their 2-7 record this season was an obvious disappointment -- especially for a veteran trying to win his first Super Bowl. Smith, who's played in eight playoff games but never the big one, goes from last in the AFC North to first in the NFC North, where he once spent four seasons playing against the Lions for the Packers and Vikings.
Whether Smith makes his debut with Detroit Sunday night against the Texans remains to be seen. Dan Campbell gave him a couple personal days after the trade, as Smith was supposed to be in his bye week with the Browns. He took the time to catch his breath and check on his home in Florida, which was in the path of a recent hurricane. Aside from a damaged fence and some water in his truck, all good. Now he wants to rev his engine for the Lions.
"I just had a chance to go out to practice today and the things that we're doing in practice, man, I see why this football team is so dominant, yes sir," he said.
Smith, 32, is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game. He grinned any time it came up and said he hopes to play. The biggest factor, he said, is understanding the calls so that he can be "on cue with the blitzes." After getting a feel for the Lions' defense on Friday, he had high praise for Aaron Glenn.
"He puts guys in situations to where they can go be dominant, man. Create one-on-one mismatches, and hopefully I can get out there this Sunday and get some of that if possible," said Smith, who has five sacks in nine games this year.
Smith has five sacks in nine games this year. Detroit's defensive line has one sack in three games since losing Aidan Hutchinson. As the trade deadline approached and rumors swirled, Smith talked openly about his interest in playing for the Lions. He said they called the Browns to ask about him the week after Hutchinson fractured his leg. Berry kept Smith in the loop as he and Brad Holmes worked on a deal for most of the past month.
Shortly before the trade went down Tuesday morning, Smith was getting restless with the deadline closing in and posted on X, "SMH." He laughed about it Friday and explained, "It was just taking too long."
"But obviously after that, they got it done, and I deleted it, man. Sorry to the fans who were thinking otherwise. Like I said, happy to be here, man. Happy to be with this football team," he said.
When Smith arrived in Allen Park and made the trade official, the Lions offered him any jersey number in the 60's, 70's or 80's. That was a quick no for Smith, who asked, "Who has No. 99?" The number he wore in Cleveland belonged to second-year defensive tackle Brodric Martin in Detroit. Smith got Martin on the phone and they worked out a deal, with some cash coming Martin's way.
"It’s three zeroes on the end of that. I’m not going to tell you the exact price, but he’s going to have some good money," Smith said with a laugh. "Put some gas in his car."
Smith got his number and the Lions got their guy, and together they have the chance to do something special.