Packers sending Preston Smith to Steelers at NFL trade deadline

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Less than two hours before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the Green Bay Packers have traded cornerback Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Packers source told On SI Tuesday.

In exchange, the Packers received a seventh-round pick, the team announced at 3 p.m.

Will the Packers take another step to add to what they believe is a championship-caliber roster? Or will the Packers become sellers again, just like they did last year when they sent cornerback Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills at the trade deadline?

The answer is sellers. The Packers haven’t acquired anyone, so any playoff berth will depend on the current roster, which has a 6-3 record heading into the bye but has lost important games against the Eagles, Vikings and Lions.

It’s a win-win deal. Green Bay has moved forward financially. from a veteran player whose best days are behind him. Smith wanted more playing time. Instead, he received less; he was slowly pushed into the background this season.

Smith played 54 snaps (71.1% of playing time) in Week 1 against the Eagles. However, he played a season-high 28 snaps (43.8 percent) against the Texans in Week 7. Then, in Sunday’s loss to the Lions, he played a season-low 21 snaps (36.8 percent).

For the season, he played 54 percent of defensive snaps, down sharply from 66 percent last year, 80 percent in 2022 and a career-high 84 percent in 2019, when he was signed as a free agent.

Smith was having perhaps the quietest season of his career. He has 2.5 sacks – 2.0 sacks against Tennessee in Week 3 and a half sack against the Rams in Week 5. However, he hasn’t had a sack in his last four games. In fact, he had zero sacks, zero tackles for loss, one defensive tackle, according to official statistics, and two total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, during that period.

Unless there is another move before the 3:00 p.m. Central deadline, the Packers will enter the playoffs with Rashan Gary, Lucas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and Arron Mosby as the final four-man rotation.

While Smith wasn’t a great player, Green Bay’s defense wasn’t great either.

Gary has 2.5 sacks. One of them came on a mistimed snap in Week 1 against the Eagles, when he ran past an unsuspecting right tackle. One of them occurred in Week 7 against Houston when the right tackle tripped and fell. Half a bag arrived last week. He has eight quarterback hits.

Van Ness, a first-round pick last year, has one sack and two quarterback hits.

Enagbare has 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and two forced fumbles.

Beyond the basic numbers, there are 90 full-backs with at least 100 passing opportunities. Smith ranked 67th in PFF pass rush win percentage. Gary is 60th, Enagbare is 78th, and Van Ness is 80th.

Gary has a pressure of 20, according to PFF. That’s 38th among cornerbacks and 28th behind Minnesota’s Jonathan Greenard, who has an NFL-best 48. Smith and Enagbare have 10, and Van Ness has six.

If Mosby is next in line, he made his first defensive snaps of the season against Detroit and shared a sack with Gary.

Smith, who turns 32 on Nov. 17, was the second-oldest player on the roster behind kicker Brandon McManus.

He had 44 sacks in five and a half seasons in Green Bay.

“Preston really represents so many things that we value,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said during training camp. “I think he missed one out of 155 games. His attitude in practice every day, the leadership he shows to our players, and this guy can still really play.

“Ever since we took him in the free agent class in 2019, he’s been there every day and he continues to be very difficult to deal with in these selections. He is an important part of our football team.”

Interestingly, the Packers signed Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith as free agents in 2019. Za’Darius Smith was traded to the Lions on Tuesday, potentially a key player for a potential Super Bowl run.

Barring another move, the Packers have eight picks in the 2025 NFL Draft – one in each of the first six rounds and two in the seventh.

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