Packers Signing OLB Za’Darius Smith To Four-Year, $66M Deal

March 12, 2019

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Packers are expected to sign Ravens OLB Za’Darius Smith.

According to Ian Rapoport, Smith receives a four-year, $66 million contract with $34.5 million paid out in the first two years.

Reports had said that the Giants were among the interested teams in Smith.

The Packers attempted to trade for Smith a few years ago, so he was clearly someone to watch for Green Bay as they look to reshape their pass rush.

It will be interesting to what this means for Nick Perry and Clay Matthews, who is a free agent.

Smith, 26, is a former fourth-round pick of the Ravens back in 2015. He played out the final year of his four-year rookie contract and was testing the open market for the first time in his NFL career.

In 2018, Smith appeared in all 16 games for the Ravens and recorded 45 tackles, 8.5 sacks, a forced fumble and two pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 33 edge rusher out of 103 qualifying players.

We had him featured in our Top 100 – 2019 NFL Free Agents list.