ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Za'Darius Smith is questionable for Sunday in Houston, but the new Detroit Lions defensive end enjoyed his first official day of practice at the Meijer Performance Center on Friday.
Smith was traded to Detroit from Cleveland on Tuesday and was set to go on a bye with the Browns for Week 10 but has now shifted to being inside a Lions locker room with Super Bowl aspirations. He will wear No. 99 in Detroit.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell says the organization is excited to have him in the building, but also don't want him feeling any pressure to be injured star Aidan Hutchinson, who went down with a gruesome leg injury in Week 6.
Hutchinson was viewed as an early favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year, but Smith sees a big opportunity ahead to help the defense in Detroit without him.
"I'm not gonna say pressure. I'm gonna be Z. Come in here and be myself. Energy guy. Help the younger guys," Smith said. "(Lions defensive lineman Josh) Paschal was a guy that went to Kentucky so to be around great guys and a great group, is big."
In his tenth season, Campbell saw the importance of letting Smith rest over the last couple of days in the aftermath of the trade before arriving to Detroit. Smith says he spent the time to check on his home to Florida, which were affected by the state's recent hurricanes.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry informed Smith that the Lions were interested after Hutchinson's injury but weren't ready to make a move right away. Smith said he's thankful that Berry allowed him to continue his career with a winning organization.
"Man, I know the game well. Obviously, I've been in the game for 10 years now. So, I know actually football ... It's just more of getting the plays in and knowing the blitzes," Smith said. "They basically want me to be on cue with the blitzes. So, hopefully, you know, something can work out here in the next 24 hours."
Smith, 32, is a three-time Pro Bowler, who started in all nine games for the Browns this season. He logged 23 total tackles, 5.0 sacks and six tackles for loss so far and is itching to join the action as the 7-1 Lions - who are off to their best start since 1956.
"He's got a lot of miles on the body, and he can still do it, but it's also, I think it's important for him to be able to get a little bit of a breather. That's one, two is that you just got traded. It's a whirlwind," Campbell said. "All of a sudden, 'I was here, we were getting ready for the team photo, was going into the bye, now all of a sudden I drive up here to Detroit and oh by the way, there was a hurricane that hit down south where my house is.'
"There's just, there's these things and I think it creates some stress that you can alleviate."