PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Detroit Lions' decision to cut Za'Darius Smith this offseason came down to one thing – money.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said the Lions simply could not afford to keep Smith and the $11 million he was due to paid in 2025 in base salary and bonuses.
"Look, it was in amicable decision," Holmes said Monday at the NFL's annual spring meeting at The Breakers hotel. "We couldn't afford it, that’s bottom line. That was my communication with him and he understood that."
The Lions acquired Smith from the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline last season for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a swap of 2026 choices.
Smith was due $1.5 million in base salary this fall, but had a $2 million roster bonus and $6.99 million option bonus due on the third day of the 2025 league year.
The Lions approached Smith about taking a pay cut, but Smith declined to pursue free agent options instead.
"That's an expensive position and like I told you guys at the combine, it's not being ignored," Holmes said. "Everybody's asking for one defensive end. Well, no, we'd love to get three or four, so it's something that's not being ignored, but we just weren't in a position to really keep him at his salary cause look, he played some good snaps for us and he made plays for us when we acquired him, so we would've loved to been able to keep him, but we just weren't able to."
The Lions did not add an edge presence to their defense in free agency but are counting on better health from a line that lost Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Alim McNeill, Mekhi Wingo, Kyle Peko and John Cominsky to season-ending injuries last season.
