Insider report reveals obvious expectations Lions have for Za’Darius Smith
Tasked with a big void to fill after Aidan Hutchinson with a fractured tibia and fibula in Week 6, the Detroit Lions paid off their rumored interest in Za’Darius Smith on trade deadline day. He didn’t suit up in the first game he could have for the Lions, after being given some days off after he was acquired, but he was impactful. Then he proved how nice a fit he is in when he did suit up in Week 11.
All along, Dan Campbell has pointed to Smith being a “fit”, “a piece of the puzzle” and things along those lines. He played a season-high snap share in his Lions’ debut, registering a 0.5-sack and three quarterback pressures as part of an overlooked defensive effort for Detroit against the Jaguars. As he gets fully up to speed with a new defensive scheme and learns new teammates, good things should come.
But as easily acknowledged the moment Hutchinson went down, there’s no way to replace one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. The kind of trade deadline move that would have done so was never really a possibility for the Lions, to whatever extent they pursued those possibilities.
NFL insider confirms obvious expectations for Za’Darius Smith
As part of his weekly buzz column with colleague Dan Graziano going into Week 12, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler lifted the see-through veil to note where the expectations are for Smith.
“I expect the Lions will be smart about Smith’s snaps. What was made clear to me is they are not looking for Smith, despite his Pro Bowl pedigree, to replace Aidan Hutchinson. They can’t: Hutchinson was a top-10 pass rusher in the NFL before his leg injury. And Smith is 32 years old. What the Lions do expect is for Smith to be a key complementary player on a defensive line that won’t feature only one player. In fact, the Lions will rely heavily on inside guys Alim McNeill and DJ Reader to generate pass rush, with Smith and Josh Paschal starting on the outside. It’s not that Detroit doesn’t expect production from Smith, but expectations should be tempered based on the player he’s replacing and the draft capital the Lions gave up (fifth- and sixth-round picks). Replacing Hutchinson will be a total team effort.”
Along with being the force he is a pass rusher, Hutchinson also rarely leaves the field. Smith won’t have that kind of snap count thrust upon him, nor should he as an older player.
Smith will undoubtedly make a big difference for the Lions’ defensive front, with his talent and experience. He just won’t be tasked with replacing Hutchinson on his own, as we knew and extra insight has now confirmed.
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Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson shows off his rehab progress
The football Gods robbed everyone of what could have been when Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson went down with a fractured left tibia and fibula in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. He has played a shade more than four and half games, but he’s tied for the fifth-most sacks in the league (7.5), and he’s fifth in the league with 45 pressures (according to Pro Football Focus) as the rest of the Week 11 slate beckons.
After the presumed season-ending injury and subsequent surgery, we’ve saw multiple reports suggesting Hutchinson could return for the Super Bowl if the Lions get there.
The day after the injury head coach Dan Campbell said, “I would never count Hutch out, ever. So, yeah, probably a long road, but I would never count him out. I would say if anybody could make it back, it’d be him.”
After Detroit’s win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7, one week after he was injured, Hutchinson offered an early update on his situation via social media.
“What’s up y’all? We are one week out from surgery,” Hutchinson said. “The first days were a little rough, but now we are on the road to recovery and just attacking each day. And I want to thank all the kids, who made me the videos. I want to thank all my teammates, all the fans, all the support all over social media. It’s been amazing. And I’m doing great, just pushing through.”
Aidan Hutchinson updates his rehab progress
On Saturday, Hutchinson posted a video on social media with the caption “One step at a time.” He is in a pool doing aquatic work, a little more than a month removed from his major injury.
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