Though the Detroit Lions enter the 2025 as clear Super Bowl contenders, fans still have concerns. One of those lies on the defensive line, with Aidan Hutchinson starting the year flanked by the often-injured Marcus Davenport and unreliable depth behind them at EDGE.
This had led to constant calls to bring back Za'Darius Smith, who's made it know he'd like to return to Detroit and clearly still has some left in the tank after registering 9.0 sacks in 2024. Yet, his pleas have fallen on deaf ears, causing frustrations that leadership won't bring in a talented player who wants to contribute to a championship run.
The Lions recently kept the door open for Smith to return at some point, but their latest, more aggressive messaging clearly is aimed to push the veteran away -- which could come back to bite them.
Why haven't #Lions brought back Za'Darius Smith?
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) September 3, 2025
Dan Campbell: "We're good right now"https://t.co/hjSVLfB8ix
Lions Pushing Away Za'Darius Smith Could Backfire
Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked directly about Smith during an appearance on 97.1 The Ticket on Wednesday, and he all but closed the book on the hopes of a potential reunion between the two.
"Well, we’re good right now," Dan Campbell said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "I mean, we’re pretty good here. 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."
As great as it is to see Campbell this confident in the group that Detroit has on its roster, injuries are part of the game of football. All three veterans set to start up front on defense for the Lions have missed multiple games due to injury over the last few seasons, with Hutchinson and Davenport only combining to play in seven games during the 2024 campaign.
There is no guarantee that one of those defenders doesn't go down again with an injury, leaving the Lions in need of an impact player on the edge. Publicly suggesting that a veteran like Smith is of no interest to the franchise could backfire in a big way if the time ever comes when Campbell isn't as certain that Detroit is "good" when it comes to adding the vet.
After splitting time with the Cleveland Browns and Lions this past season, Smith remains unsigned despite a total of of 24.5 sacks over the past three campaigns. The soon-to-be 33-year-old may be getting up there in age, but the production hasn't waned yet.
Fans in the Motor City just have to hope that the Lions don't find themselves in a spot where they need a player like Smith to bail them out due to an injury to a regular starter on the defensive line. If they do, these comments from Campbell will surely be raised again and could be enough for the veteran edge rusher not to give Detroit any consideration at all if it was to come calling.