Following Aidan Hutchinson’s season-ending injury in Week 6, the Detroit Lions weren’t shy about trying to trade for a pass rusher to fill the hole he left behind. As the trade deadline neared, the Cleveland Browns sent Za’Darius Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Lions for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick. Once the trade was complete, Browns star Myles Garrett gave his thoughts to the media.
“Well first, I’d like to say I’ve never seen a man smile so much going to a new place,” Garrett told the Browns media. “My man was cheesing from ear to ear when he was on TV. But happy to see him feeling good, feeling like himself and being positive.”
With Smith being sent from one team that appears to be on the rebuilding track to a team that’s one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl, it’s not very hard to see why Smith was as happy as Garrett painted him out to be.
Smith joined the Browns in 2023 through a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, and in his time besides Garrett in Cleveland, Smith started 25 games, accumulating 10.5 sacks, 50 total tackles, 27 QB hits, 14 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
However, with the Lions’ needing a new pass rusher, they struck a deal with the Browns that resulted in the three-time Pro Bowler being sent to the Motor City.
And while the Browns lost a strong part of their defense, Garrett didn’t appear too worried about the guy who ultimately ended up replacing Smith on their defensive line.
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