Interesting Detail Stands Out After Za’Darius Smith Cited

Finding out a star player is tangled up with the law isn’t ever something a team enjoys, but there might be an interesting silver lining for the Green Bay Packers in regards to pass rusher Za’Darius Smith — not that they would ever likely acknowledge it.

As the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported Friday night, Smith is due in court next week in Wisconsin’s Racine County after being ticketed during a traffic stop back in late September for speeding and possessing marijuana or synthetic marijuana. He was briefly placed in handcuffs along with rookie defensive teammates Kingsley Keke and Rashan Gary, who were traveling with him back from Chicago.

While the charges aren’t criminal and none of the men showed any signs of being high, there was an interesting exchange also detailed in the reports when the police discovered three blunts and a vaping cartridge in the back of the SUV, as detailed in the Press-Gazette’s article:

According to the reports, when asked about them again by a second deputy, after he read Smith his Miranda rights, Smith said, “What weed?” before saying “I’ll put it on me,” when asked if the blunts and the vaping cartridge were his.

—Green Bay Press-Gazette article on Nov. 1, 2019.

There are a number of ways to read the phrasing there, and it probably isn’t worth overanalyzing. But from the sounds of it, Smith might have accepted responsibility to avoid letting his younger teammates get into trouble. The demerit would certainly land softer against a star veteran than an earning-his-way rookie.

Of course, this is just speculation. Smith has not commented on the situation, while the Packers confirmed they were aware of the matter without commenting any further. It could arise during Sunday’s postgame, but don’t count on there being much talk about the incident right now.

The NFL will investigate the situation, though it is unclear whether the violation would warrant a suspension under the league’s substance abuse policy. It also will not impact his status Week 9 against the Los Angeles Chargers, as a ruling most likely would not come until early next week.

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How Likely is Smith to be Suspended?

Losing Smith — who has never been disciplined by the league — for any amount of time would not be ideal for a Packers defense that runs on Smiths like motor oil.

Za’Darius Smith is tied for the fourth-most sacks in the league, averaging one a game through the first eight. Preston Smith isn’t far behind him with seven, making for one of the fiercest pass-rushing tandems around. Both of those totals, by the way, are better than Chicago Bears star Khalil Mack’s 5 1/2 sacks.

The NFL’s policy is pretty broad, as you can see below:

Players convicted of or admitting to a violation of law … relating to use, possession, acquisition, sale, or distribution of Substances of Abuse other than alcohol, or conspiring to do so, are subject to appropriate discipline as determined by the Commissioner. Absent aggravating circumstances, discipline for a first offense will be a suspension

Technically, Smith sounds like he qualifies for a suspension, which could run up to four games for a first-time offense. It seems likelier, given the circumstances, he would miss one or two games at most, but anything is possible — even the NFL deciding not to take action.

Either way, the problem won’t need to be addressed until after Sunday afternoon’s road game against the Chargers (3-5), where Smith and the Packers (7-1) will look to carry their momentum into the second half of the season.

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