BEREA — Za'Darius Smith let the cat out of the bag initially while he was standing in the Browns locker room after their preseason finale at the Seattle Seahawks.

"We'll start fresh on Sept. 8," the Browns defensive end said at the time, "and I don't know if you know it or not, that's my birthday. So it's going to be special on Sept. 8, for sure."

Sept. 8, for those without a calendar, will be Sunday. That's when the Browns open the season against the Dallas Cowboys.

Smith was asked about that "birthday surprise" on Wednesday as he stood in the Browns locker room. The three-time Pro Bowler could flash a knowing grin and tilt the ballcap on his head back a bit.

"I can't, man," Smith said. "We got four more days, so you'll find out in four days."

The Browns would love to see Smith play a big role in a big opening game against the Cowboys. Acquired in a May trade with the Minnesota Vikings last year, he was limited to just 5.5 sacks and 60 total pressures.

There would be no better opportunity for Smith to show it's a new season than to go out Sunday and flash. The game itself has the added spotlight of being the prime 4:25 p.m. game of the day, with a huge television audience expected with the opponent being Dallas and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady making his Fox broadcasting debut.

"I mean, I'm already amped up," Smith said. "I'm getting the chills already just talking about it, but it's going to be big, man. Like you said, it's going to be the only game that's going to be on at the time, so the world is going to be watching so you got to show up and show out for sure."

The Browns opened last season with a major statement by throttling the Cincinnati Bengals. Much of that was determined by a defense that constantly harassed Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who threw for just 82 yards and was sacked twice.

Smith nearly got to Burrow on the first play, forcing an incompletion. He finished with four hits on Burrow in the game.

Now, Smith and the Browns defense get a chance at an encore performance. The birthday boy said the second year together under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz could only include bigger and better things.

"Yeah, I feel like we're going to be good," Smith said. "I feel like we're going to be great. It's the second year, we get all our guys back, majority of everybody, I think we're only missing, what? Two guys from linebacker and D-tackle. So we getting everybody back second year in Jim Schwartz's defense, it feel like it's going to be big for us, man.

"Everybody now is starting to click. And, like you said, we're getting everybody back so it's going to be big man and hopefully it's going to be a show out there this weekend for sure."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Za'Darius Smith sees a 'birthday surprise' coming from Browns defense