Eagles Sign Former Lions Defensive End. Will it Haunt Brad Holmes?

The Detroit Lions have lost out on signing a familiar face to their defensive line.

After an offseason of communication and a not-so-subtle hint that he desired to be back in Detroit, the Lions have lost out on defensive end Za'Darius Smith, as the Eagles signed the veteran to a one-year contract following their Week 1 victory against the Cowboys.

With incentives, Smith could receive up to $9 million for his time playing for the NFC East Squad.

Smith was released in the offseason after being acquired by the Lions at last year's trade deadline. In eight games with the Lions, he recorded four sacks and three tackles for loss.

Detroit elected to part ways with Smith ahead of the start of free agency, as the team freed up valuable cap space in that move. However, throughout the offseason the Lions and Smith have both noted that there remained mutual interest.

At the NFL's annual league meetings, general manager Brad Holmes said that the Lions had maintained communication with Smith. Later in the offseason, Smith told reporters at the BET awards that he desired to be back in Detroit.

The Lions’ pass rush finished tied-for-23rd in sacks and was dealt heavy blows with both Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport suffering season-ending injuries early in the season.

Hutchinson began the year on a tear but suffered a season-ending leg injury in Week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys. In six games, he recorded 7.5 sacks and was named the September NFC Defensive Player of the Month. He was projected by ESPN's Mike Clay to be the NFL's top performing defensive end.

The Michigan product, by all accounts, is showing no signs of lingering effects from the injury and dominated during training camp practices.

Davenport, meanwhile, appeared in just two games and suffered a season-ending torn triceps in Week 3. The Lions elected to retain the veteran on a new one-year contract, but durability will be a concern as he has not played a full season since being drafted in the first round of the 2018 draft.

The Lions also added EDGE depth by drafting Boise State's Ahmed Hassanein in the sixth-round of this year's draft. Hassanein impressed in camp, but suffered a pectoral injury that is expected to sideline him for a significant portion of time.

Fourth-year defender Josh Paschal is currently sidelined as well, as he is currently on the Non-Football Injury list.

Defensive tackle Alim McNeill also suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 15, and he is expected to miss the start of the regular season.