The Cleveland Browns have hit every square on the “what the heck did they just do?” BINGO card more times than anyone can count over the past 25 seasons.
But there is one square that they have yet to hit,
at least in recent memory, which is “having a player retire in the middle of the season.”
One team that can’t say that is the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
While still picking through the rubble of last week’s defeat to a New York Giants team that had one win and a head coach with only 10 wins in his last 39 games, the Eagles found out today that defensive end Za’Darius Smith is retiring, effective immediately.
Smith, who spent 11 seasons-plus in the NFL, including 25 games for the Browns, announced his retirement on Instagram, writing in part:
I knew this day would come — but now that it’s here, I’m feeling so many emotions I never expected.
Who would’ve thought that a kid from Greenville, AL, with just one year of high school football experience, would go on to play professional football in the NFL for 11 incredible years!
This game has given me the opportunity to meet great coaches, compete alongside some of the best players ever, and represent some of the greatest organizations in the league. Football has transformed my life and my family’s lives forever — and for that, I’m forever grateful.
This career has taken me across the world — from earning my first passport stamp to visit countries I only saw on maps, to helping me start a foundation that gives back to my community. There have been challenges along the way, but the rewards have outweighed them all and helped me learn, grow, and evolve as a man.
A fourth-round selection by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2015 NFL Draft, Smith played in 145 games with six different teams — the Ravens, Browns, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and the Eagles. He retires with 70.5 sacks, including three seasons of double-digit sacks, and three Pro Bowl appearances.
The Browns traded for Smith in May of 2023. During his time in Cleveland, Smith had 10.5 sacks, 50 tackles, and 27 quarterback hits. The Browns traded Smith and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick to the Lions in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick at the trade deadline in 2024.
Cleveland used that fifth-round pick in the subsequent trade with the Eagles for quarterback Kenny Pickett. The sixth-round pick was part of the package the Browns sent with Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals last week.
Defensive end was already a weak point for the Eagles before Smith retired, and now it becomes an even bigger hole to fill. Which could, theoretically, lead Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman to give Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry a call about defensive end Myles Garrett.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating. To lose the same way every time, it’s frustrating as hell.” – Cleveland DE Myles Garrett after Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers
While Garrett willingly signed a contract extension in the offseason, he expressed his frustration on Sunday after another demoralizing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Would Garrett be open to waiving his no-trade clause to help the Eagles in their quest to return to the Super Bowl? Would Berry be willing to listen if Roseman called, and how much could Berry wring out of a team desperate for help at an important position?
The NFL trade deadline arrives on November 4, which just so happens to coincide with Cleveland’s bye week. If/when the season continues to go off the rails, the Browns will be a team to watch as the clock ticks down to the deadline.
