Green Bay Packers: Za’Darius Smith is a must sign free agent

With the free agency period about to begin, signing edge rusher Za’Darius Smith should be at the top of the Green Bay Packers to-do list.

This offseason is a critical one for the Green Bay Packers if they hope to return to their winning ways. General Manager Brian Gutekunst will have to hit on his draft picks and be active in free agency to right the ship.

There are a number of needs that must be addressed before the start of the new season, but perhaps the most important of those will be the edge rushing position. With Clay Matthews and Nick Perry both potentially gone, Kyler Fackrell is the only experienced edge rusher on the roster. Even if Matthews and Perry were on the team heading into 2019, this would still be a position of need due to their lack of production.

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Some of the bigger names at edge that could have been available via free agency were Jadeveon Clowney, Frank Clark and Dee Ford, all of which have been franchise tagged. Rumors are that they could be available for trade, but in addition to giving up draft capital, the Green Bay Packers will inherit their $17.1 million contract as well. Another player that has become available is Justin Houston, who has been productive when on the field but injuries could be a concern.

With roughly $35 million in cap space available and reports that the Green Bay Packers plan to spend money on an edge rusher, Za’Darius Smith is a player that is entering the prime of his career and has put up impressive numbers, even on his limited attempts.

Smith was selected in the fourth round of the 2015 draft by the Baltimore Ravens and has made the most out of the opportunities that he has had.

In 2018, Smith recorded 8.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 25 quarterback hits. While last season was his most productive, he has been steady throughout his career, totaling 18.5 sacks, 24 tackles for loss and 52 quarterback hits. What may be Smith’s best attribute is that he is relentless in his pursuit to get into the backfield.

All of Smith’s production has come on limited snaps. Last season was the most that he had seen the field and it was still only 67 percent of the Ravens defensive snaps. If we look at another edge rusher that the Green Bay Packers have been linked to in Preston Smith, the two players have similar career numbers, even though Za’Darius has seen the field far less than Preston Smith has and he won’t cost as much.

It’s not just this offseason that the Packers have been potentially interested in Smith, but in a recent Peter King article, he reported that Green Bay had tried to trade for Smith in the past. Given how the edge market is shaping up, signing Smith to a $8.9 million contract as projected, with his best years ahead of him could be a great deal for the Packers.

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Signing Smith would give the Green Bay Packers an immediate boost at edge, which is greatly needed. Although they should still consider drafting an edge rusher at 12, bringing in Smith could allow them to address other needs with that pick.

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