Kash Doll, Za’Darius Smith’s girlfriend, fires back at Dan Campbell on Instagram

Smith played eight games for the Lions after being traded mid-season by the Cleveland Browns. While he was more productive in Cleveland, Smith finished his Lions tenure with 12 total tackles and four sacks.

He finished the 2024 season overall with 35 tackles and nine sacks across all 17 games played. Smith’s nine sacks are the most since recording 10 total during his lone season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.

Despite this, the Lions decided against bringing him back. Campbell explained his comments further during his appearance on 97.1 The Ticket.

“I mean, we’re pretty good here,” Campbell continued. “We got (Marcus) Davenport, we got good depth, I like what we got on the interior, too, we got a lot of flexibility and we’re sitting pretty good right now. So we’re ready to go, man.”

According to Smith, via Tyler Dragon of USA Today, he still wanted to play for Detroit in June and was hoping to find a way back on the roster in time for training camp. After all, there was no ill-will between Smith and the Lions, as his release was to help with cap space. However, this wasn’t the case and Smith is still a free agent with just days left until the start of the 2025-26 NFL season.

“We both know where I want to be,” Smith said. “Hopefully I can get back to Detroit because the coaching staff and everybody in the front office are great. When I’m there I feel like a leader and like I can influence the young guys and do great things. Hopefully I can get back to where I want to be in Detroit.”

The Lions are set to kick off their regular season on the road against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET and will air live on CBS.