The Eagles have agreed to terms with linebacker Za’Darius Smith, according to NFL Media. It’s a one-year deal.
The Browns traded Smith to the Lions during the 2024 season. In the offseason, the Lions terminated the balance of Smith’s contract. There had been periodic suggestions that a reunion was in the offing.
That’s now off. Smith is an Eagle.
Because the Eagles have played their first game of the season, adding Smith now means he won’t be entitled to the balance of his salary as termination pay, if the Eagles later cut him. It’s one of the benefits of starting the season a few days early.
If the Lions had signed him today, Smith’s full salary would have been essentially guaranteed. In Philly, that’s not the case.
Smith, who turns 33 in three days, joins his sixth team. He was a fourth-round pick of the Ravens in 2015. In 2019, he signed with the Packers. He spent 2022 in Minnesota before signing with the Browns in 2023.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Smith has 69 career sacks, and three double-digit sack seasons.
