The Detroit Lions plan to release veteran defensive end Za'Darius Smith, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Sunday.
The Lions talked about options over the past week, but a $2 million roster bonus due Friday spurred the action, the source told Fowler.
Smith wrote "Thank you Detroit" on his Instagram page after the news, sharing photos from his Lions tenure.
Smith finished with nine sacks last season -- four with the Lions -- playing a pivotal role on Detroit's defense after the team lost Pro Bowl edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson in Week 6 to a fractured tibia and fibula.
He was traded to the Lions in November along with a 2026 seventh-round pick from the Cleveland Browns for a 2025 fifth-round pick and 2026 sixth-round pick, helping the Detroit defense stay afloat during the team's record-setting 15-win season where it earned the NFC's No. 1 seed in the postseason for the first time.
Smith, 32, is a three-time Pro Bowler with 69 career sacks over 10 seasons with the Lions, Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens. In 2020, he also earned second-team All-Pro honors.
Smith was selected in the fourth round (122nd overall) of the 2015 NFL draft out of Kentucky by the Ravens.
