CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns are on the verge of adding another Pro Bowl pass rusher to join Myles Garrett on the defensive line.
On Friday evening, NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero were first to report that the Browns have traded for Minnesota's Za'Darius Smith. Rapoport and Pelissero add that Smith's reworked contract guarantees him $11.75 million in 2023 before becoming a free agent next March.
The Browns will also receive a 2025 6th-round and 7th-round pick. The price for Smith will be fifth-round picks to Minnesota in 2024 and 2025.
The 30-year-old Smith is coming off of a strong season for the Vikings, recording 10 sacks, 44 tackles (15 for loss), five passes defensed (a career-high) and one forced fumble. He was selected to his third Pro Bowl.
Smith was a fourth-round pick of the Ravens in 2015. He played in Baltimore for four seasons before joining the Green Bay Packers as a free agent in 2019. Smith would earn the first of his three Pro Bowl honors that year, recording a career high 13.5 sacks. He was a second-team All Pro and was again elected to the Pro Bowl in 2020 after posting 12.5 sacks for the Packers. Smith was released by Green Bay after missing most of 2021 with a back injury.