Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that Vikings veteran OLB Za’Darius Smith is worth keeping an eye on during the draft as a potential trade candidate.
Smith has two years remaining on his contract and is scheduled to carry a $15.49 million cap figure for the 2023 season.
According to Jones, “there are some rumblings” that the Vikings could trade Smith.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported last month that Smith has asked the Vikings for his release. However, Minnesota reportedly has no plans to cut him.
Smith already said goodbye to Vikings’ fans on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/zadariussmith/status/1633945098873450498
According to OverTheCap.com, trading Smith would free up $12,156,861 of available cap space while creating $3,333,334 million in dead money.
Smith, 30, 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.
In 2022, Smith appeared in 16 games for the Vikings and recorded 44 tackles, 10 sacks, a forced fumble and five pass defenses.
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