Vikings got in and out of the Za'Darius Smith experience at the right time

Former Vikings Pro Bowler Za'Darius Smith made a surprising retirement announcement on Monday morning after playing in five games with the Eagles this season. Coincidentally, that means he won't face Minnesota on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, where he likely would've had a significant role within Philadelphia's injury-depleted pass rush.

#Eagles edge rusher Za’Darius Smith has announced his retirement. pic.twitter.com/hcPRHnin0m
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 13, 2025

In addition to the immediate takeaway of Smith not playing this weekend, there's also a bigger-picture element to look back at when it comes to Smith's tenure with the Vikings a few years ago. In hindsight, it's a situation that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah handled quite well, both in acquiring the player when he did and in moving in on when he did.

Smith began his NFL career with the Ravens, then broke out with huge seasons for the Packers in 2019 and 2020. After missing almost all of the 2021 campaign due to a back injury, he was released by Green Bay the following spring. That's when the Vikings saw an opportunity to pounce and add a second star pass rusher to complement Danielle Hunter. Adofo-Mensah, who had been hired as Minnesota's GM a couple months earlier, signed Smith to a three-year, $42 million in March — a deal that notably came with just $11.5 million guaranteed.

Smith was an immediate success for the Vikings in the first season of the Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell era in 2022. He sacked Aaron Rodgers in his Vikings debut and had 8.5 sacks in Minnesota's first seven games of the season, putting him on pace for a career year.

After that, Smith had just 1.5 sacks over his final 10 games in purple, including the 13-4 Vikings' first-round playoff loss to the Giants. However, the popular narrative among Vikings fans that he fell off massively in the second half is misguided. He had 37 pressures in his first seven games (5.3 per game) and 43 in the 10 games after that (4.3 per). Sacks are a fickle stat for pass-rushers, and Smith was largely the same player all year. He finished the regular season with 78 pressures, per PFF, which was fourth-most in the league. Hunter was tied for seventh with 70. Both players went to the Pro Bowl.

Za'Darius Smith — Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK

In May of 2023, Adofo-Mensah broke up the duo by trading Smith and two future late-round picks (a sixth and a seventh) to the Browns for two fifth-rounders. It was a somewhat surprising trade at the time, but it's one that has aged well to this point. The Vikings used the 2024 fifth-rounder they got as part of the package to trade up one spot for J.J. McCarthy in last year's draft. They used the 2025 fifth-rounder on Georgia's Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins this April. TID has earned a rotational role on the Vikings' defense early in his rookie season and just picked up his first career sack against Cleveland in Week 5.

Meanwhile, Smith continued to bounce around the league after the trade, even though his pass-rushing ability never left him. He had 5.5 sacks and 60 pressures in 2023 on a Browns team that lost in the first round of the playoffs. He had 9 sacks and 63 pressures last season, split between the Browns and the Lions, who traded for him in November. For the fourth straight year, with a fourth different team, his season ended with a one-and-done playoff appearance.

Smith then signed with the Eagles this fall, one day after their season opener, and was still playing solid football before his surprise retirement on Monday.

The summary of events is that the Vikings got a great season out of Smith in 2022, but were smart to structure his contract the way they did and to make the tough choice to move on after just one season. It's an example of what's been one of Adofo-Mensah's strengths as Minnesota's GM, which is moving on from players — even fan favorites — at the right time instead of waiting too long to do so.

And it sure doesn't hurt the Vikings that they won't have to face Smith this Sunday, considering he had 5.5 sacks in six career games against them.

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