Smith went to the X-ray room following Sunday's loss to the Seahawks, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.
Smith didn't have a major impact during Sunday's matchup, as he tallied just one assisted tackle. The nature of his injury isn't yet clear, but the results of his X-rays could help determine his availability for next Sunday's game against Arizona.
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Browns' Za'Darius Smith: Gets in limited practice
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Smith (ankle) was a limited participant at practice Thursday, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
After he missed practice entirely Wednesday, Smith took a step in the right direction Thursday towards being available for Week 3. He'll still most likely need to log a full practice Friday to avoid taking an injury designation into the weekend.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Dealt to Browns
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Smith has been traded to the Browns from the Vikings along with a 2025 sixth-round and seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round and 2025 fifth-round pick, Zac Jackson of The Athletic reports.
Smith's contract was apparently a key element in this trade for Minnesota along with the Browns' need for more defense. He will go from a 3-4 defense in Minnesota to a 4-3 in Cleveland. The veteran returned to form in 2022 during his lone season with the Vikings by accumulating 44 tackles (32 solo), including 10 sacks and a career-high five passes defended.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Return to form in 2022
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Over 16 regular-season games in 2022, Smith accumulated 44 tackles (32 solo), including 10 sacks, and a career-high five passes defended in his first campaign with the Vikings.
Smith played all but one regular-season game in 2022 after he missed nearly all of the 2021 campaign with Green Bay while recovering from back surgery. The 30-year-old edge rusher was still limited to his fewest number of defensive snaps (735) since the 2018 season, as he regularly appeared on the weekly injury report while dealing with a knee issue. While his production also slowed with just one-half sack over the final eight weeks of the regular season, he did log double-digit sacks for the third time in his career. Smith formed an effective pass-rushing duo in his first season alongside Danielle Hunter (10.5 sacks). However, it's unclear if this pairing will be kept together since the Vikings are currently $24.5 million over the cap heading into 2023.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Questionable, but expected to play
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Smith (personal) is questionable for Sunday's matchup in Chicago, but he's still expected to play against the Bears, Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Per Goessling, it's unclear if Smith will travel with the team to Chicago, but the star pass rusher is expected to join the Vikings before Sunday's game. After recording 9.5 sacks over his first nine appearances with Minnesota, Smith has mustered just half a sack across the past seven games.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: On track to play Sunday
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Smith (knee) is officially listed as questionable, but he's expected to play Sunday against the Cowboys, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
Smith has yet to miss a game this season and is on track to maintain that streak in Week 11, but fantasy managers in IDP leagues should still confirm the linebacker's status before locking him into lineups. The Vikings don't kick off until 4:25 p.m. ET, so ideally, Minnesota will release further context on Smith's status before the first wave of games Sunday.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Deemed questionable for Sunday
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Smith (knee) is questionable for Sunday's matchup against the Cowboys.
Smith suffered a knee contusion during Minnesota's Week 10 win over Buffalo and was limited throughout Week 11 prep. If the star pass rusher is sidelined, D.J. Wonnum and Patrick Jones would be candidates for increased roles.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Returns versus Arizona
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Smith (knee) returned to Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.
Smith exited shortly before the end of the second quarter with a knee injury, though he was able to return on the opening series of the second half. The veteran pass rusher recorded four tackles including two sacks in the first half against Arizona.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Active for London game
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Smith (knee) is active for Sunday's contest against the Saints.
Smith was officially listed as questionable for Sunday's matchup in London, but he will take the field against Andy Dalton. New Orleans is operating with a depleted offense, as Alvin Kamara (ribs) and Michael Thomas (foot) are both out, not to mention Jameis Winston (back). That should put Smith in good position for success even if his reps end up being limited.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Not practicing Wednesday
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Smith (knee) didn't practice Wednesday.
Smith played a season-high 61 defensive snaps during the team's Week 3 win over the Lions, but he presumably picked up a knee issue as well. His absence Wednesday is concerning, especially given he's coming off a season-long back injury, but the veteran pass rusher will still have two more opportunities to practice before Minnesota needs to make a decision on his status for Week 4.
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Vikings' Za'Darius Smith: Headed to Minnesota
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Smith signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Vikings on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Smith was released by the Packers in mid-March and appeared to have quickly signed a new contract to reunite with the Ravens. However, for an undisclosed reason that deal fell through, so the former All-Pro pass rusher returned to the open market where he was courted by his former team's division rival. Smith missed nearly all of 2021 while recovering from back surgery, but he did return for Green Bay's final playoff game and even recorded a sack during the loss to San Francisco. Before the injury-plagued 2021 campaign, he recorded back-to-back double-digit sack seasons with the Packers and figures to provide a powerful one-two punch with Danielle Hunter (pectoral) during the 2022 campaign.
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Ravens' Za'Darius Smith: Back for second stint in Baltimore
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Smith agreed Wednesday with the Ravens on a four-year contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
The contract reportedly is for $35 million, with another $15 million available in incentives. Smith thus returns to the team that drafted him in the fourth round back in 2015, reaching an agreement with the Ravens just two days after the Packers released him. A back injury (and subsequent surgery) limited Smith to one regular-season game and one playoff game in 2021, but prior to that, he had 13.5 and 12.5 sacks in his first two seasons with the Packers. He'll turn 30 years old in September and is locked in as a starting outside linebacker for Baltimore.
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Za'Darius Smith: Cut loose by Green Bay
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The Packers released Smith on Monday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.
The move has been rumored for the past couple months, with Smith previously scheduled for a non-guaranteed $14.5 million base salary in 2022, the final year of the four-year, $66 million contract he signed in March 2019. The Packers signed fellow edge rusher Preston Smith right around the same time, then drafted Rashan Gary in the first round a month and a half later. They'll now move forward with Gary and Preston Smith as their top pass rushers, having signed the latter to a four-year contract extension shortly before Za'Darius was released. The 29-year-old free agent shouldn't have much trouble drumming up interest, considering he had 13.5 sacks in 2019 and 12.5 in 2020 before a back injury limited him to one game in 2021.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Expected to play
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The Packers are expected to activate Smith (back) from injured reserve for Saturday's game against the 49ers, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.
The Packers may get two of their best players back from lengthy absences this week, with CB Jaire Alexander (shoulder) listed as questionable on the final injury report. Alexander last played Week 4 and Smith in Week 1, with the pass rusher undergoing back surgery in late September. It's unclear what kind of workload Smith is expected to handle in his first game back, assuming he is in fact activated from IR.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Returns to practice
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The Packers have designated Smith (back) for return from IR, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Smith will practice Wednesday, which is an encouraging step in his recovery from back surgery. Smith has been on injured reserve since Green Bay's season opener, and with the team beginning the postseason with a bye week, he will have a bit more time ramp up his on-field activity.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Activated from NFI list
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The Packers activated Smith (back) from the non-football injury list Monday, Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports.
Smith is participating in Monday's practice, which is a very good sign for his recovery progress. It doesn't appear that the Packers are very concerned about Smith's availability for Week 1, if at all, but it remains to be seen if the 28-year-old will suit up for Saturday's preseason matchup against the Jets.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Injury should be short term
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Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Wednesday that the undisclosed injury that resulted in Smith's placement on the non-football injury list isn't a serious concern, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Gutekunst similarly downplayed the injury of cornerback Kevin King, who was also placed on the NFI list earlier this week. Expect Smith and King to return to practice before long.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Starts camp on NFI list
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Smith (undisclosed) was placed on the non-football injury list Tuesday, Tom Silverstein of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Smith is dealing with an undisclosed injury to begin training camp after coming off one of the best seasons of his career for Green Bay in which he recorded 52 tackles and 12.5 sacks.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Ready to rock
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Smith (ankle/thumb) does not carry an injury designation for Saturday's divisional-round game against the Rams, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.
Smith began the week as a limited participant in practice while nursing a pair of injuries, but he's on track for Saturday's NFC divisional-round contest against the Rams. The star linebacker notched 12.5 sacks across 16 appearances during the regular season.
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Packers' Za'Darius Smith: Listed as limited participant
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Smith (ankle/thumb) was a limited participant on Tuesday's practice report.
Smith played through the pair of injuries in the season finale against Chicago, recording 66 defensive snaps and two tackles in the process. The 28-year-old linebacker will be ready for Saturday's playoff game against the Rams barring a setback during the practice week.
