The Browns on Friday night traded for Za’Darius Smith, who’s notched double-digits sacks in three of his last four seasons, including 10 last year with the Vikings to earn his third trip to the Pro Bowl, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. In addition to Smith, the Browns received 6th and 7th round picks in 2025, while the Vikings received fifth-round picks in 2024 and 2025 — meaning they essentially gave him away for some much-needed cap relief.

Before the trade, the Vikings had about $1.096 million in cap space for second-last in the NFL, according to Over the Cap. The move cleared $12.156 million with a dead cap charge of about $3.33 million, but the Vikings didn’t realize the entire savings. When the Browns reworked Smith’s contract to pay him $11.75 million guaranteed in 2023, the Vikings footed some of the bill, a league source said.

The trade comes two months after Smith asked the Vikings to trade him, and seemingly bid farewell to the team and fans on Twitter. The Vikings declined to honor his request at the time, but their general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, found a willing partner in his old boss with the Browns, GM Andrew Berry.

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