Overall, the Green Bay Packers have embraced defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s new 4-3 approach. Preston Smith, a former defensive end for the Packers, is one guy who might not have been entirely convinced by the concept. In exchange for a seventh-round pick in the next draft, Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the trade deadline. However, Smith was rumoured to be on the trade market a few weeks beforehand. We now understand why.
Smith told the Pittsburgh media on Wednesday that he had in fact asked for a trade out of Green Bay a few weeks prior. For comparison, he played 37 percent in Week 9 — a career low for his healthy games as a Packers player — after dropping from 71 percent in Week 1 of the season to just 54 percent in Week 8. Green Bay may have decided to keep their rental intact because they knew Smith would be leaving at the last minute, as you might imagine.
Smith’s transfer request was motivated by a desire to return to a 3-4 scheme, which he played in Washington to begin his career and then in Green Bay. In 2024, Smith will be eligible for millions of dollars in incentives because of the restructuring he agreed to in February after Hafley was hired. Smith will need to record ten sacks this season in order to reach the maximum incentives in his contract. He just has 2.5 sacks on 2024 as of right moment.
It is anticipated that Lukas Van Ness, a former first-round selection, will start in Smith’s place. Van Ness will start his first game since high school in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears, as he has a notable record of never starting a game at the collegiate or professional level. The 23-year-old isn’t currently producing excellent results for the Packers. Smith is anticipated to alternate with Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt for the Steelers, a squad vying for a postseason berth. Smith participated in 91 games and had 88 starts during his five and a half years in Green Bay.
Following the trade deadline, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters that it was simpler to deal the pass-rusher away when Smith signed with a contender like the Steelers. That remark makes more sense now that we know that Smith had asked for a trade in private weeks earlier.