Vikings sign Za’Darius Smith

Za'Darius Smith (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Kevin Patra of nfl.com on Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings have signed defensive end Za’Darius Smith of Montgomery, Alabama to a three-year deal worth $42 million. Smith is the second professional sports athlete to come to Minnesota this week and sign a huge contract. He is joined by Major League Baseball shortstop Carlos Correa, who signed a whopping three-year deal worth a staggering $105.3 million on Friday with the Minnesota Twins.

Smith became a free agent after being released by the Green Bay Packers on March 14. He initially agreed to a four-year deal worth $35 million with the Baltimore Ravens. Smith then however changed his mind, and realized he could sign a shorter contract for $5.25 million more money per season.

In 2021, Smith only played one regular season game all season for Green Bay because of a back injury. The game was the regular season opener, which the Packers lost 38-3 to the New Orleans Saints. Smith was also on the field for the Packers’ lone playoff game, a 13-10 Green Bay loss to the San Francisco 49ers on January 22.

Smith will be joining his third NFL team. He initially played four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens from 2015 to 2018, and then three seasons with the Packers from 2019 to 2021. In his two full seasons with the Packers in 2019 and 2020, Smith went to the Pro Bowl in each season. In 91 NFL games, Smith has 227 combined tackles (148 solo tackles and 79 assisted tackles), 112 quarterback hits, 53 tackles for a loss, eight forced fumbles, seven pass deflections and two fumble recoveries.

From a Packers perspective, their focus right now is to upgrade their offense, and find another wide receiver for Aaron Rodgers to throw to. Just last week, the Packers traded star wide receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. 

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