DETROIT – Dan Campbell was literally right in the middle of an interview when the news of a Detroit Lions trade broke.
The head coach of the Lions was on 97.1 The Ticket for his weekly interview with Jon Jansen and Jim Costa when reports surfaced that the team had traded for Browns edge rusher Za’Darius Smith.
“Dan, I hate to do this to you,” Costa said. “Ian Rapoport is reporting -- verified Ian Rapoport -- that the Browns are trading Za‘Darius Smith to the Lions. Can you comment on that?”
“Well, Ian‘s got all the answers, doesn‘t he?” Campbell said. “Well you‘d hate it if Ian was wrong, wouldn’t you?”
Smith, 32, has 5.5 sacks this season and 65 in his long NFL career. He joins a Lions team that is currently 7-1 and atop the NFC standings.
Reports say the Lions traded a fifth-round pick in 2025 and a sixth-round pick in 2026 to get Smith and a seventh-rounder in 2026.
The Lions play the Texans in Houston on Sunday Night Football this weekend.
