Following a three-game losing streak that ran the Dallas Cowboys record to 3-5 through the first nine weeks of the 2024 season, there were plenty of reasons to sell off what players they could at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday.

After superstar pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson went down for the season, the Lions had a gaping hole on their otherwise Super Bowl-caliber roster. Detroit legitimately had everything except for a difference-maker off the defensive edge, a place that some of the other NFC powers (and the AFC's heavyweights) could probably exploit in the postseason.

Hours before the NFL’s trade deadline at 4 p.m., the NFC-leading Lions (7-1) acquired defensive end Za’Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.