NFL analyst urges the Packers to bring back former All-Pro, saying it could push impactful position group to the next level

"I look first and foremost to pass rusher Za'Darius Smith, who can still go at a high level. He had nine sacks this past season and played for the Detroit Lions after being traded from Cleveland as a part of a Browns salary dump.

Za'Darius didn't make the Pro Bowl in Detroit—he made the Pro Bowl with another NFC North team, the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay has Rashan Gary as their star player in the room and is betting heavily on former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness to make a big leap in his third season.

But even beyond Van Ness, Rashan Gary, and Kingsley Enagbare as the other primary players in the room, it's a couple of rookies the Packers are currently betting on. So if the price is right, Za'Darius going back to Green Bay and staying in the NFC North is a pairing that I think could make a lot of sense. He twice made the Pro Bowl with Green Bay after signing a free-agent contract there after leaving the Baltimore Ravens." — Kyle Crabbs.

Why Za'Darius Smith makes sense for the Packers

While Smith is 32, he is still playing at a high level—and this is a position where rotational players tend to have long careers. Last season, including nine games for the Cleveland Browns and eight for the Detroit Lions, Smith had 63 total pressures, which would comfortably lead the Packers.

He hasn't necessarily reached the level he had for the Packers since leaving Green Bay three years ago, but Za'Darius is still an impactful player. Beyond his production as a pass rusher, the veteran is also a solid (if unspectacular) run defender. He had 60+ pressures in each of his past three seasons, including 78 with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.

Why it's unlikely

Za'Darius signed a four-year, $66 million contract with the Packers back in 2019, an eventful offseason in which the team also added fellow edge defender Preston Smith, safety Adrian Amos, and offensive lineman Billy Turner.

After two strong seasons to start his Packers tenure, in which he was named an All-Pro once and a Pro Bowler twice, the defender had some relationship issues with the franchise, which led to the decision to release him after an injury-plagued 2021 season.

General manager Brian Gutekunst is not a big fan of reunions in the first place (at least, this is what his background indicates), and in this particular case it seems especially unlikely—even though on the field, as Crabbs mentioned, the fit would be intriguing.