Cleveland's defensive front took a gut punch this offseason when Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, got shipped to the Rams in a blockbuster trade. Now the Browns are reportedly turning to a familiar face to help patch the hole: Za'Darius Smith.
SleeperNFL flagged the report from Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, and it's a legitimate stunner given where Smith was 10 months ago. The 33-year-old edge rusher shocked the league in October 2025 when he announced his retirement just 6 weeks into his 11th NFL season, walking away from the Eagles a day after a loss to the Giants.
This isn't Smith's first stint in Cleveland, either. He spent a season and a half with the Browns before getting traded to the Lions midway through the 2024 campaign, so this is more reunion than blind leap of faith for either side. Reports indicate the Browns brought him in for a workout last week, he passed his physical, and a deal could be finalized as soon as this weekend.
On paper, Smith still has real juice left. He's a 3-time Pro Bowler (2019, 2020, 2022) with a Second-Team All-Pro nod in 2020, and he racked up 70.5 sacks and 11 forced fumbles across 145 regular-season games before hanging it up. Even in his abbreviated, injury-marred run with Philly last year, he still logged 1.5 sacks in limited action.
The timing lines up. Losing Garrett, the guy who just set the NFL's single-season sack record, leaves an obvious talent gap off the edge, and Cleveland clearly isn't planning to just shrug it off. Bringing back a proven veteran who already knows the building, the coaches and the system is about as low-risk a stopgap as you can find on the market this deep into the offseason.
Nothing's officially signed yet, but if Cabot's report holds, Smith goes from unretired to suiting up in Cleveland again within a matter of weeks. Worth watching what kind of role he actually gets carved out for once pads come on, given how long he's been away from football.