Falcons Worked Out OLB Za’Darius Smith

The Atlanta Falcons hosted veteran OLB Za’Darius Smith for a workout on Monday, per the NFL transaction wire. 

Smith worked out for the Browns recently and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported they expected to sign him as early as Sunday. However, it appears he’s keeping his options open. 

Smith played for Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland and Atlanta has a pretty big need for edge rusher help. 

He joined the Eagles last year but retired. The team released his rights in June. 

Smith, 33, is a former fourth-round pick of the Ravens back in 2015. He played out the final year of his four-year rookie contract before agreeing to a four-year, $66 million contract with the Packers in 2019. 

Smith had one year remaining on his contract and was set to make a base salary of $14,500,000 for the 2021 season when the Packers released him. 

The Ravens reached an agreement with Smith on a four-year deal worth $35 million, but he opted to back out of the deal and sign a three-year, $42 million contract with the Vikings. From there, the Vikings traded Smith to the Browns, and he agreed to a two-year, $23.5 million contract with Cleveland.

The Browns traded Smith to the Lions along with a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick. Detroit released him before the final year of his deal and he signed a one-year deal with the Eagles just before the season started.

However, he retired after just a few games and was placed on the reserve/retired list. 

In 2025, Smith has appeared in five games for the Eagles and recorded 10 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.