{"id":64669,"date":"2025-04-02T09:51:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T13:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=64669"},"modified":"2025-04-02T09:51:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T13:51:37","slug":"why-the-lions-let-zadarius-smith-go-and-why-the-chiefs-might-snag-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/why-the-lions-let-zadarius-smith-go-and-why-the-chiefs-might-snag-him\/64669\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Lions let Za\u2019Darius Smith go and why the Chiefs might snag him"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"w-full text-token-text-primary\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-2\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto py-5 px-6\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto flex flex-1 text-base gap-4 md:gap-5 lg:gap-6 md:max-w-3xl lg:max-w-[40rem] xl:max-w-[48rem] group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-none\">\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn @xs\/thread:px-0 @sm\/thread:px-1.5 @md\/thread:px-4\">\n<div class=\"relative flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"7975ca0e-81a4-4a5d-99ad-ab06390d99de\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert dark\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"78\" data-end=\"403\">The Detroit Lions made a bit of a head-scratching move this offseason when they decided to release veteran pass rusher Za\u2019Darius Smith. Given that he was still under contract for 2025 and had a manageable $11 million salary\u2014pretty reasonable for a guy who racked up nine sacks last season\u2014many expected him to stick around.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"405\" data-end=\"529\">But during the NFL owners\u2019 meetings, Lions general manager Brad Holmes cleared up the decision: it all came down to money.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"531\" data-end=\"660\">\u201cIt was an amicable decision,\u201d Holmes explained. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t afford it, plain and simple. I told him that, and he understood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"662\" data-end=\"914\">Now, the Lions are in a tough spot. Not only do they lack depth at edge rusher, but they also need a solid starter to play opposite their young star Aidan Hutchinson. Ideally, they\u2019d find a long-term solution, but for now, they\u2019ve got a hole to fill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"916\" data-end=\"1314\">Meanwhile, Pro Football Network\u2019s Kyle Soppe thinks the Kansas City Chiefs could be a perfect landing spot for Smith. The Chiefs, who ranked 27th in sack rate last season when not blitzing, could use a reliable veteran to boost their pass rush. They totaled just 39 sacks last year (18th in the NFL), and if they want to make another Super Bowl run in a stacked AFC, that number needs to improve.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1316\" data-end=\"1645\">Even though Smith turns 33 in September, he proved last season that he still has plenty left in the tank. And Kansas City, with its championship pedigree, could be an enticing destination for him. The Chiefs currently have around $11.8 million in cap space\u2014just enough to make a deal happen if they\u2019re serious about adding him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1647\" data-end=\"1712\">Bottom line? The Lions\u2019 loss could end up being the Chiefs\u2019 gain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Detroit Lions made a bit of a head-scratching move this offseason when they decided to release veteran pass rusher\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":64671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[24969],"class_list":["post-64669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-zadarius-smith"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}