Report: Za’Darius Smith Is Preparing to Sell His House in Minnesota
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings have a number of rumors and speculation shadowing over the franchise right now. The roster contains a number of veteran players that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the front office will have to make decisions on regarding contracts.
One of those players is pass rusher Za’Darius Smith, and according to a report by Ben Goessling, it appears that Smith is preparing to sell his house in Eagan, Minnesota, and the property is listed as “coming soon” on the real estate market.
The Vikings made their biggest splash of the 2022 free agency period when they decided to bring in Smith to pair alongside Danielle Hunter. The 2022 season got off to a roaring start for Smith, who recorded 8.5 sacks in the Vikings first seven games.
Then, Smith suffered a knee injury that clearly hampered him down the stretch of the season, and he recorded just 1.5 sacks over the final 10 games. In all, he finished the campaign with 44 tackles, 15 TFLs, and 10.0 sacks. Not a bad season by any means, but it certainly ended in disappointment.
Now, as Goessling points out in a later tweet, selling a house doesn’t necessarily mean that Smith is leaving Minnesota. It’s hard to find a reason that he and Hunter cannot thrive together in Brian Flores’ defense during the 2023 season.
That being said, the Vikings have to find ways to free up over $23 million in cap space prior to free agency. Smith carries a cap hit of $15,490,195 in 2023, and if the Vikings were to cut him, they could save $12,156,861.
Or, perhaps the Vikings could restructure Smith’s deal to free up cap space as well, albeit not as much as they would save by cutting him outright. Regardless, a Vikings player selling his house amidst being part of the rumor mill for the team is certainly something to keep an eye on. We’ll soon find out whether or not this is a notable development or not.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.