Za’Darius Smith has long held a grudge against the Packers, and now he’s fully explained why.

Before being traded to the Detroit Lions, Smith expressed excitement at the prospect of facing his former teams, the Packers and the Vikings, if he were to join Detroit. “If I was to go to Detroit, I would like it, because I get to play Green Bay twice a year and the Vikings twice a year,” Smith said in October while with the Cleveland Browns, according to Scott Petrak of the Chronicle-Telegram. “So, yeah, that’ll be big.”

Smith got his chance at a “revenge game” against the Packers in Week 14, when he sacked quarterback Jordan Love during the Lions’ win. After the game, Smith spoke to Stacey Dales of NFL Network, explaining the emotional significance of the win. “Za’Darius, you told me this week, kind of a little bit of a revenge game because you gave that franchise, for three years, your everything,” Dales remarked.

Smith responded, “Two years I gave it to them, and once I got hurt, they sent me down like I wasn’t nothing. But, I’m glad to be on the other side now. You know I had a chance to go to the Vikings and get my revenge. And I came to Detroit and got my revenge again.”

Za’Darius Smith explains why he despises the Packers

Smith’s comments clearly show his bitterness toward the Packers, especially in regard to how they handled his injury. Over his first two seasons in Green Bay, Smith tallied 26 sacks, but his 2021 campaign was marred by a back injury that caused him to miss most of the season. In March 2022, the Packers released him, and he signed with the Minnesota Vikings, where he recorded 10 sacks the following year.

Tyler Dunne of Go Long recently spoke with Smith at Allen Park, and Smith shared even more about the Packers’ treatment of his back injury. “It wasn’t right. I gave that team my all. They lied to me about my back,” Smith said. “For a lot of fans who think I did wrong or was the mean guy in the locker room, that’s not my M.O. I’m not that type of player. I want to help my team win. But they didn’t know that story. And outside looking in, I’d be mad at me, too.”

Smith explained that the Packers’ medical staff never mentioned a bulge in his back, and because he was unvaccinated during the 2021 summer with COVID protocols in place, the Packers refused to allow him to see Dr. Robert Watkins, an orthopedic spine surgeon in California who had treated other NFL players. Watkins discovered the bulge, which was causing nerve issues, and Smith underwent surgery. However, the Packers fined him for each day he spent away from the team during rehab.

When Smith returned to the team a month later, the Packers attempted to rush him back into action. “Trying to rush me in back. When I was running, ‘What the f**k y’all doing? Why are y’all doing this?’ They gave me something to squat with,” Smith said. “I got my stuff and I went home. I left. So that’s where the confusion came from: ‘Z ain’t a team leader. He just ditched his teammates.’ But the world’s not knowing.”

Dunne’s feature on Smith provides more details, offering valuable insight into his side of the story.

This weekend, the Lions are reluctantly cheering for the Packers on Sunday, hoping Green Bay can help them clinch the NFC’s top playoff seed by defeating the 49ers. No one is more reluctantly rooting for the Packers than Smith.