Myles Garrett made headlines and shockwaves throughout the entire NFL on Sunday morning after ESPN’s Adam Schefter shared that he walked back his trade request and signed a four-year extension with the Cleveland Browns that pays him an average of $40 million a year.
However, he wasn’t the only Browns pass rusher who made headlines on the day before free agency.
The Detroit Lions made the free-agent class just a bit better by releasing a former Brown onto the open market.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler shared on X that the Lions plan to release pass rusher Za’Darius Smith, who had nine sacks last season and was acquired prior to the trade deadline from the Browns, while analyst Fred Greetham wonders if a reunion could be in the works.
The Browns received a 5th and a 6th-round pick in exchange for Smith, and he’ll now become one of the best pass rushers on the open market despite heading into his age-33 season.
Aside from his 2021 season, Smith has also been a pillar of health and would be a major addition to any defense on what will likely be a one or two-year deal.
For a Browns team with a lot of holes to fill outside of Garrett, Smith would be a solid addition as the team obviously hasn’t had time to replace him since trading him a few months ago.
Cleveland knows exactly what it would be signing up for, and since re-signing Garrett implies there won’t be a rebuild, a reunion with Za’Darius Smith would make a lot of sense.