In their only move before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers decided to sell and not buy. The Packers sent veteran pass rusher Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a seventh-round pick for Smith, pending a physical.
Smith, a 10-year veteran, was a second-round pick of Washington in 2015. He spent four years there before signing with the Packers in 2019. This season, he had 2.5 sacks in nine starts with the Packers. For his career in Green Bay, Smith started 88 games and recorded 44 sacks, the sixth most in Packer history.
The trade will allow more playing time for the Packer’s 2024 first-rounder, Lukas Van Ness.
The move is also a cost-cutting effort by the Packers, as Smith is signed through 2026. His salary for 2024 is $3.2 million, and he will earn $12 million next year.
