Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski may poach former Pro Bowl pass rusher from Browns team that fired him

Za'Darius Smith was supposedly set to sign with the Cleveland Browns, if one believed the reports coming out of The Land over the weekend.

But there is a significant problem with those reports.

Smith, a three-time Pro Bowl player with 70 1/2 career sacks, doesn't think that's necessarily true.

And he called out one of the reporters who supposedly broke the news.

And then he worked out for the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.

ATLANTA FALCONS 2026 BETTING PREVIEW: LIMITED UPGRADES HAS NEW HEAD COACH KEVIN STEFANSKI FACING A STEEP CLIMB So we have a lot going on here, none of it good for Cleveland.

Let's get specific: The Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com reported Sunday that Smith was set to sign with the Browns, and as late as noonish Monday was describing the negotiations as possibly being "finalized today." Except Smith, who has played on six teams in his 11 seasons, has a say in the matter and he was in Atlanta.

And he called out the reports of him heading to Cleveland.

"I haven't signed yet," Smith wrote on social media, adding the bulging eyes emoji.

"I have another workout tomorrow morning with a different team! Who told you to post this?" Yeah, whoops .

The NFL wire that tracks workouts and other league transactions indeed had Smith working out for the Falcons on Monday.

And aside from that perhaps causing some embarrassment among some media, it creates an intriguing situation as two teams clearly have interest in the same player.

FALCONS SELECTED TWO PASS RUSHERS IN THE FIRST ROUND AND NEITHER MAY BE AVAILABLE TO START THE NFL SEASON The Browns obviously want Smith because he played for them for two seasons, started 25 games, collected 10 sacks and 27 quarterback hits.

The Falcons potentially want Smith because they have a need and coach Kevin Stefanski, who is in his first year with the club, coached Smith when the two were with the Browns... ...Before the Browns fired Stefanski.