Za'Darius Smith Fantasy

The Green Bay Packers and outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith completed a restructure of his contract to create salary cap space in 2021, according to a source. The move allowed the Packers to re-sign running back Aaron Jones earlier this week. Smith had his $5 million roster bonus and $9.76 million of his base salary in 2021 converted into a signing bonus, which created $7.38 million in salary cap space for the team. His salary cap number for the 2022 season will go up, and he'll be a candidate for a contract extension. Smith was scheduled to have a cap hit of $22 million this year and $20.75 million in 2022. The restructure lowers his cap hit this year to under $15 million but increases his cap hit in 2022 to over $28 million. Smith played in all 32 games and has recorded 26 sacks and 60 QB hits since he signed with the team in 2019.

Mar. 17th • 1:09 PM

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith provided immediate returns after the Packers signed him to a lucrative free-agent deal before the 2019 season. He pressured the quarterback on 19.4 percent of pass rushes when lined up on the interior, which was the highest rate among all defenders rushing from the interior with a minimum of 100 interior pass rushes. Smith finished second overall in pressure percentage at 14.8 percent, trailing only Myles Garrett. Smith and defensive tackle Kenny Clark combined for 120 QB pressures in 2019, the most by any pass-rushing duo in the league. He had a career-high 13.5 sacks last year and 8.5 the year before, but he leaves a lot to be desired from an IDP standpoint because he's not as strong against the run and doesn't rack up many tackles.

Jun. 3rd • 12:21 PM

Green Bay Packers pass-rusher Za'Darius Smith (knee), who has three sacks in three games, is expected to play on Thursday night against the Eagles. He was listed as questionable and was limited in practice all week. Smith, a key addition in the offseason, has been part of the reason why the Packers Defense overall has been much improved in 2019. His presence for Thursday Night Football will be bad news for Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, rookie running back Miles Sanders and the rest of Philly's backfield.

Sep. 26th • 5:43 PM