Former Cleveland Browns Star Projected to Join Baltimore Ravens

Midway through the 2024 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns traded edge rusher Za'Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions, ending Smith's one-and-a-half year tenure with the Browns.

Smith was actually very productive overall last year, totaling 35 tackles and nine sacks in 17 games between Cleveland and Detroit. However, he remains unsigned very deep into the offseason.

The fact that Smith is still available is pretty strange given how good he was in 2024, but perhaps the 32-year-old is simply asking for too much money. Or maybe he is just waiting for the absolute perfect situation.

Regardless, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox has identified the top potential destination for Smith, and Browns fans are not going to like it: the Baltimore Ravens, where the former fourth-round pick started his NFL career back in 2015.

"A return to the Baltimore Ravens could also make sense for Smith," Knox wrote. "The Ravens are looking to make a championship run this season and still have $17.5 million in cap space available. While Baltimore recorded an impressive 53 sacks last season, it could afford depth on the edge behind Odafe Oweh and 34-year-old Kyle Van Noy."

Smith was a late bloomer with the Ravens. He accumulated 10 sacks over the course of his first three seasons in Baltimore, but then broke out with 8.5 sacks in 2018 before signing with the Green Bay Packers in free agency that ensuing offseason. He then went on to make back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances with the Packers before earning another with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.

It obviously wouldn't be great for the Browns if the Ravens are able to land Smith, as it would give them yet another productive player in a pass rush that racked up 54 sacks in 2024.