3 Lions Making Their Final Playoff Run With Detroit in 2025

3. Za'Darius Smith, EDGE

I think you could take a look at a number of defenders currently on the Detroit Lions' 53-man roster and deduce that this will be the "last" playoff run they will have with the team.

Za'Darius Smith might be some of the lowest hanging fruit we can find, but it's worth talking about him and a variety of others in the same light. Smith was acquired at the trade deadline in a deal with the Cleveland Browns to help not only Smith come close to completing his NFC North division tour (he has played already for the Vikings and Packers as well) but also helping an ailing and injured Detroit defense.

This Detroit defense is borderline unrecognizable compared to what they had on paper going into the 2024 season and obviously there are a lot of rentals on that side of the ball who simply won't be part of the team's plans beyond this year.

Smith is set to count just over $4 million on next year's salary cap so he wouldn't be the most expensive depth to keep around, but the Lions are likely going to want to add a number of young players and perhaps even upgraded veterans to boost their depth in the trenches defensively.

I don't even know if it's arguable at this point that the Lions have a stronger defensive unit on injured reserve than they do on their active roster with the likes of Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeil, John Cominsky, Marcus Davenport, Malcolm Rodriguez, Ennis Rakestraw, Derrick Barnes, and Alex Anzalone all sidelined due to injuries.

You need some luck in the NFL when it comes to injuries but the Lions have been more snake-bitten than anything, and many names we see in this upcoming playoff run won't be Lions much longer after their season ends.

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