michigan roundup: smith makes it clear he wants to return to lions
it appears defensive end za’darius smith wants to retur...
2 minute read
a salary cap cut by the detroit lions in march, defensive end za'darius smith #99 has gone public with his desire to rejoin the team.
gregory shamus
/
getty images
it appears defensive end za’darius smith wants to return to the detroit lions.
smith, who will turn 33 in september, was acquired by the lions from the cleveland browns at the deadline last season, but detroit released him at the end of march as a cap-saving move with smith due $11 million in 2025.
at the time, lions’ general manager brad holmes said the team simply could not afford to keep him at that price, but kept the door open for a return.
smith spoke to usa today at the bet awards in los angeles where he expressed his preference to return to detroit.
“we both know where i want to be,” the six-foot-four, 270-pound smith said. “hopefully, i can get back to where i want to be in detroit.
a 10-year veteran, smith has 69 career sacks in 140 games. he had four sacks in eight games for the lions, which was second on the team behind aidan hutchinson’s 7 1/2 sacks in just five games before suffering a season-ending leg injury.
“hopefully, i can get back to detroit because the coaching staff and everybody in the front office are great,” smith said. “when i’m there, i feel like a leader and like i can influence the young guys and do great things.”
tigers retain baddoo
outfielder akil baddoo has opted to remain with the detroit tigers.
advertisement
the 26-year-old baddoo was designated for assignment last week when the club recalled jahmai jones. after going unclaimed on waivers, baddoo had the option to ask for his release. instead, he opted to remain with the organization and was assigned to the team’s class aaa affiliate team in toledo.
a former second-round pick by minnesota, the tigers acquired baddoo in the rule 5 draft prior to the 2021 season. over parts of five seasons with the tigers, the left-hand hitting baddoo has batted .224 with 28 home runs in 104 runs driven in over 347 games.
red wings ink goalie
the detroit red wings have signed 23-year-old goalie michal postava to a two-year, entry-level contract.
the six-foot-two, 205-pound postava played for hc kometa brno in the czech extraliga and led the team to the league championship.
an undrafted free agent, postava, who is from czechia, posted a 23-18-0 record in the regular season with a 2.39 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 42 games with three shutouts. in 17 playoff games, he boasted a 1.97 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.
pistons head to mexico
the detroit pistons will meet the dallas mavericks in a regular-season game in mexico city on nov. 1.
advertisement
the game marks the 34th nba game played in mexico since 1992 and marks the 10th time dallas has played in the game and the third time for the pistons, who last played in the game in 2019 against the mavericks.
jpparker@postmedia.com
twitter.com/winstarparker
share story
