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Grading the Detroit Lions’ trade for Browns EDGE Za’Darius Smith.

It took a while to hammer out the details, but the Detroit Lions finally got a deal done before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Cleveland Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith is heading to Detroit after agreeing to a trade.

Let’s break down the trade and offer an overall grade for the move.

Terms

As a reminder, here’s what it cost to acquire:

Lions get:

  • Za’Darius Smith
  • 2026 seventh-round pick

Browns get:

  • 2025 fifth-round pick
  • 2026 sixth-round pick

It became clear over the past few days that the Browns wanted a fourth-round pick, but Lions general manager Brad Holmes stood pat and found an alternate way of giving the Browns more than a fifth-round pick.