Vikings, Za'Darius Smith Agree to Terms on Three-Year, $42 Million Deal
The Minnesota Vikings and star edge rusher Za'Darius Smith have agreed to terms on a three-year, $42 million deal, according to multiple reports. The contract can be worth up to $47 million with incentives.
Smith spent Monday at the Vikings' TCO Performance Center in Eagan on a visit. He got to see the facility and meet with GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O'Connell, and other Vikings officials. That visit reportedly carried into dinner on Monday night, and the deal was finalized Tuesday.
It won't be official until Smith passes a physical and puts pen to paper. That's particularly worth noting after he initially agreed to a four-year, $35 million deal with the Ravens before backing out. Smith missed almost the entire 2021 regular season with a back injury, but the Vikings clearly feel good enough about his medicals to agree to this contract. Barring anything highly unlikely, he'll be officially introduced as a Viking this week.
This is a huge addition for Adofo-Mensah and O'Connell. Smith, when healthy, is arguably a top-ten edge rusher in the NFL. He led the entire league with 93 pressures while playing for the Packers in the 2019 regular season and recorded 26 sacks across 2019 and 2020 combined. Smith, who turns 30 in September, has an impressive combination of size (6'4", 275), strength, and explosiveness off of the edge.
Pairing him with Danielle Hunter could give the Vikings one of the best pass-rush duos in the NFL. Hunter has two years left on his contract and finished second behind Smith in pressures in 2019. The big question will obviously be whether or not the two can stay healthy (assuming the Vikings do keep Hunter). Smith missed last season with a back injury, while Hunter missed all of 2020 with a neck injury and then saw his resurgent 2021 campaign end early because of a torn pectoral muscle.
With Smith and Hunter on the edge; Dalvin Tomlinson, Harrison Phillips, and Armon Watts up front; and Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks in the middle, the Vikings could have a very talented, experienced front seven if they can stay healthy. That would allow new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell to do a lot of different things with three-man fronts, four-man fronts, and various other packages. The cornerback position needs a lot of work and the defense as a whole could use additional depth, but the talent is there up front.
Backing out of his initial deal with the Ravens ended up working out for Smith and his camp. He had a four-year, $35 million deal with Baltimore that could've been worth up to $50 million total. Now he has a three-year, $42 million deal worth up to $47 million. That's a higher average annual value and nearly the same total amount (with incentives) despite one fewer year. It'll be interesting to see how the contract is structured.
The Vikings presumably will need to convert Hunter's roster bonus to signing bonus to create room for this addition under the salary cap.
Smith is a native of Montgomery, AL. He went to Kentucky and was a fourth-round pick by the Ravens in 2015. Smith slowly developed into an impact player over his four years in Baltimore, then broke out in a huge way after signing with the Packers.
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