
On Friday evening, the Minnesota Vikings traded outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith to the Cleveland Browns in a pick swap. The Vikings sent 2025 sixth and seventh-round picks to the Browns in exchange for fifth-round picks in 2024 and 2025.
Mere hours later, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported that the Vikings retained some of Smith’s salary. This was something I alluded to in an earlier piece when the trade was announced, as the tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport alluded to a reworked contract to make the move happen.