Za'Darius Smith on the move? Vikings listening to offers

Could former Kentucky star Za’Darius Smith find himself traded by the Vikings? Minnesota is considering it — or listening to offers, at the very least.

Smith is coming off a Pro Bowl season and earned Comeback Player of the Year honors, racking up 44 combined tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks, five pass deflections and one forced fumble in 2023. Production isn’t the issue. He does, though, have two years remaining on his contract with a $15.5 million cap hit in 2023, playing for a team just $1 million under the cap ceiling. And that’s without signing its new draft class.

Let’s not forget Smith asked for his release back in March, saying goodbye to the Vikings and thanking the franchise for “an amazing season & experience.” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Minnesota “has no plans” to grant his wish and “the situation remains unresolved.”

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert added that it has “long been expected that the Vikings would part ways with Smith,” but would not release the former Wildcat “at this time.”

Fast forward nearly two months and the 30-year-old pass-rusher remains in Minnesota. For how much longer? That’s the question of the hour.

A release remains off the table, but according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Vikings are open to a trade. It will simply come down to money, with Smith’s next team needing to agree to a new adjusted contract on top of trade compensation in the form of 2024 draft picks now that the 2023 draft has come and gone.

“The Vikings will listen on Dalvin Cook and Za’Darius Smith,” Breer reported this past weekend. “The problem is both will require contract adjustments to be traded. Revised deals have to sit a day before they’re traded. So it’d be ’24 picks for them.”

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah confirmed that a trade is on the table for both players, key pieces for the franchise on both sides of the football.

“We’re keeping the conversations open with both of those guys,” Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said of Smith and Cook. “We’re always trying to find solutions for both them and us. We’ll continue to do so. The dialogue will remain open with them.”

Trading Smith would clear over $12 million of cap space for the Vikings, along with avoiding a lucrative long-term deal for the eight-year pro.

The former Kentucky standout started his career with the Baltimore Ravens, selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played four seasons there, followed by three with the Green Bay Packers (2019-21) before his one-and-done season in Minnesota this past year.

Smith has racked up 271 total tackles (180 solo), 68 tackles for loss, 54.5 sacks, 12 pass deflections, nine forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries across 107 games and 64 starts in eight seasons.

What’s next for Big Z? We’ll find out soon.