The Green Bay Packers and Za’Darius Smith parted ways prior to the 2022 season. The split wasn’t the most amicable as many accusations from Smith surfaced in the months following his release. Following Smith’s release he originally intended to sign with the Baltimore Ravens but ended up backing out of that deal. He then signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Za’Darius Smith was listed as inactive today for the Vikings’ season finale against the Chicago Bears. Here is Za’Darius Smith’s final season stat line.
Za’Darius Smith’s 2022 Final Season Stat Line
- 16 games played in, 16 games started
- 44 combined tackles (4th most in career)
- 15 tackles for loss (2nd most in career)
- 10 sacks (3rd most in career)
- 5 passes defended (most in career)
- 2 forced fumbles (second most in career)
The only two seasons that Za’Darius Smith played in Green Bay was in 2019 and 2020. He was on the roster in 2021 but only appeared in one game and didn’t start or finish that game. From 2019 to 2020 Za’Darius Smith averaged slightly better overall stats:
- 16 games played in, 16 games started
- 53.5 total tackles
- 14.5 tackles for loss
- 13 sacks
- 1 pass defended
- 1 forced fumble
- 1 fumble recovery
2022 certainly wasn’t a bad year for Za’Darius Smith as he made the pro-bowl. In 2019 and 2020 Smith also made the pro-bowl, and in 2020 he also made the all-pro team. After Smith’s departure from Green Bay he started making accusations about the Packers and the team. Za’Darius Smith has essentially claimed that no one cared about him or his injury. He also was upset the Packers released him after he gave everything to the team. Yesterday, even head coach Matt LaFleur responded to the Za’Darius Smith claims. “I respect the crap out of Z as a player” Added: “I think we may have a different perspective on how things transpired, so I’ll just leave it at that.” Matt LaFleur is 100% right, and I dug of proof of this with two different examples.
On two different occasions Packers coaching staff commented on Za’Darius Smith’s potential return or ACTUAL return to the facilities. First one is from Mike Smith, the Packers outside linebackers coach.
Mike Smith said: “He sees everybody having fun and having a good time, and he wants to join it. He’s got to be smart about it. Obviously, can’t wait until he gets back but just got to take his time and make sure when he’s back, he’s back for good.”
The one that really seals the deal was what Matt LaFleur said in early November of 2021:
Matt LaFleur said: “He had a big smile on his face,” LaFleur said. “He seems to be in good spirits, which is always important. It was just good to have him back in the building.”
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