Smith restructured his contract Saturday opening up close to $7 million in additional cap space for the Packers, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
The Packers also restructured the contract of star cornerback Jaire Alexander, both necessary moves for the team to reach cap compliance. Smith was thought to be a potential cap casualty back in the pre-2021 offseason, but since then the 29-year-old pass rusher has tallied 17.5 sacks over the past two seasons and has become one of the team's most consistent pass rushers.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Tallies another sack in win
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Smith logged five tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in Sunday's 26-20 win over the Dolphins.
After registering two sacks in Week 15 against the Rams, Smith collected one more in the Christmas Day matchup versus Miami. The veteran pass rusher is now just two tackles away from setting a new career high in that department, and he'll have an opportunity to reach that mark come New Year's Day when the Packers host Minnesota.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Snags two more sacks
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Smith had three tackles (two solo) and two sacks in Monday's 24-12 victory over the Rams.
Smith is coming on late in the season, recording a total of four sacks over his last four appearances. He needs 2.5 sacks over the final three weeks to reach double digits in the sack column for the first time since 2019 and just the second time in his career.
Smith recorded five tackles (two solo) and 1.5 sacks during Thursday's 27-17 loss to the Titans.
Smith's 1.5 sacks Thursday mark the first time that the 30-year-old was able to get to the opposing team's quarterback since the Packers' Week 5 matchup against the Giants. Smith now has 36 tackles, five sacks and one pass defensed through Green Bay's first 11 games, and he'll look to remain one of the team's key defensive contributors in Week 12 versus Philadelphia.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Playing in Week 9
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Smith (shoulder/neck) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Lions, Mike Spofford of the team's official site reports.
Smith was limited during practice all week with shoulder and neck issues, but he's since been cleared for action for Sunday's contest in Detroit. The veteran is slated to operate in his usual role as the Packers' starting outside linebacker in Week 9.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Snags another sack
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Smith registered four tackles (three solo), a sack and a pass deflection in Sunday's 37-10 victory over the Vikings.
Smith totaled just two sacks over his first eight appearances of the season, but he has picked up the pace in a big way since, taking down the quarterback seven times over his last seven games. Smith's nine sacks are the second most he has recorded in his seven NFL seasons and are more than double the 4.0 sacks he tallied in 2020.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Questionable for TNF
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Smith (oblique) has been listed as questionable to play versus the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football.
The linebacker was inactive last week versus Washington, snapping a 102-game streak of being active prior. He logged a limited practice Wednesday, likely setting him up to be a game-time decision Thursday. If he can't play, the recently signed Whitney Mercilus could play a big role at outside linebacker versus Arizona.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Logs another sack in win
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Smith was credited with two solo tackles and a sack in Sunday's win over the Redskins.
With 11.5 sacks on the season, Smith now sits sixth on the NFL sack leaders list. He's registered at least half a sack in eight of his 13 games this season.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Matches career high
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Smith posted seven tackles (five solo) and a sack in Sunday's 26-11 loss to the Chargers.
This was Smith's best tackling performance of the year, and he's now matched a career high of eight sacks through just nine games. Preston and Za'Darius Smith have combined to serve one of the most dynamic pass-rushing duos in the league, accounting for 16.5 of the team's 22 sacks and both slotting in the top eight leaguewide.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Another sack Sunday
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Smith recorded four tackles (three solo) a sack and a pass defensed across 54 defensive snaps in Sunday's win over the Cowboys.
Smith now has 5.5 sacks on the year and is the clubhouse leader in Green Bay. He is currently on track to have his best statistical season. Smith will look to continue his dominant play Monday night against the Lions.
Smith logged five tackles (four solo), three sacks and one forced fumble during Sunday's 27-16 win over the Broncos.
Through three contests this season, Smith has already surpassed his 2018 sack total. The fifth-year pro appears to have found his rhythm in Green Bay and could prove a valuable weekly IDP asset if he's able to maintain consistency as a pass rusher.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Dealing with back injury
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Smith did not participate in team drills Tuesday due to back tightness, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Smith, who signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Packers this offseason, appears to just be battling a minor back issue. It wouldn't be surprising, however, if the Packers elected to hold the prized free agent signing out of their first preseason game Thursday as a precautionary measure. Consider him day-to-day for now.
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Redskins' Preston Smith: Unlikely to return to D.C.
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The Redskins aren't likely to use their franchise tag on Smith during the offseason, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reports.
While the Redskins would love to keep Smith around, Washington has one of the worst cap-space outlooks around the league this offseason and won't realistically be able to retain him even on a one-year arrangement, which would likely pay the pass rusher north of $17 million. It's even more unlikely that Washington would be able to meet Smith's asking price if he were to become an unrestricted free agent, so expect the Redskins to instead look internally, through the draft or through the bargain bin via trade or the open market to replace the 26-year-old.
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Redskins' Preston Smith: Plays all 16 games again
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Smith was a 16-game starter at outside linebacker in the final season of his rookie contract, compiling 52 tackles (30 solo), four sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery on 834 defensive snaps.
The 2015 second-round pick still hasn't developed into a top-notch pass rusher, but he does have a respectable total of 24.5 sacks through four seasons and hasn't ever missed a game. The dependability should make it easy to secure a long-term contract from another team if Smith doesn't re-sign with Washington before he's eligible to hit the open market at the beginning of the new league year. For what it's worth, coach Jay Gruden said he would like to keep the 26-year-old outside linebacker in Washington, per JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington.
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Redskins' Preston Smith: Finally gets to quarterback
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Smith produced three tackles, one sack and one forced fumble during Sunday's 16-3 victory over Tampa Bay.
Despite averaging over 50 defensive snaps per game, it took Smith nine contests to record his first sack of the season after racking up 20.5 of them over his first three years in the league. No matter, the 2015 second-round pick played a big role in this impressive showing against an explosive Buccaneers passing attack. There's a strong chance Smith can keep the good times rolling while he matches up against a below-average Texans offensive line in Week 11.
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Redskins' Preston Smith: Totals eight sacks in 2017
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Smith tallied 42 tackles (31 solo) and eight sacks in 16 starts for the Redskins in 2017.
Smith finished the season with two interceptions and a forced fumble, all of which came in the final three games of the season, as well as three of his sacks. The 25-year-old should enter the final year of his rookie contract as Washington's starter at outside linebacker opposite of Ryan Kerrigan.
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Redskins' Preston Smith: Suiting up Sunday
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Smith (groin) is listed as active Sunday against the Cowboys.
Smith will extend his streak of consecutive games to 39 since he was drafted in 2015. That said, his snap count could ultimately be impacted if his groin is unable to handle the rigors of pass rushing versus Dallas' mountainous offensive line.
Smith (groin) was listed as a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Jane Slater of NFL Network reports.
The Redskins held Smith out of their first practice of the week Wednesday after the linebacker strained his groin in Monday's 34-24 loss to the Eagles. His status for the Week 8 game against the Cowboys is still unclear, but Smith's advancement to limited participation during Thursday's session is a positive step forward.
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Redskins' Preston Smith: Another sack Monday
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Smith recorded two tackles (one solo) and added a sack in Monday's loss to the Chiefs.
Smith now has one sack in every game this season and is just half a sack away from surpassing his grand total of 4.5 from last year. He'll look to keep the streak alive once Washington returns from their bye week.
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Redskins' Preston Smith: Will play through groin issue
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Smith (groin) will play in Sunday's game against the Eagles.
Smith will be available as expected after logging a full practice on Friday, and he's expected to start at outside linebacker across from Ryan Kerrigan.
