Overview

• General manager Brad Holmes says Detroit has maintained dialogue with Za’Darius Smith’s camp but has yet to align on contract terms
• Smith recorded four sacks in eight games for the Lions in 2024 and has publicly expressed his preference to rejoin the team
• Aidan Hutchinson, fully cleared from last season’s leg fracture, has impressed in training camp with his speed and explosiveness
• Detroit plans to begin formal extension negotiations with Hutchinson, who remains under team control through 2026 after the fifth-year option was exercised
• The pursuit of veteran reinforcements addresses a thin edge-rusher group depleted by season-ending injuries to Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal