The Steelers released Smith on Friday.
Smith began last season with Green Bay before he was traded to Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick in early November. The veteran pass rusher recorded a sack in his first game with the Steelers in Week 10 but didn't notch another one until Week 18. Smith generally underperformed during his half season with Pittsburgh to the extent that he was a healthy scratch for the team's wild-card loss to Baltimore. By parting ways with Smith, the Steelers will clear $12 million in cap space for next season, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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Steelers' Preston Smith: Production falls off in 2024
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Smith tallied 32 total tackles (12 solo), including 4.5 sacks, over 17 regular-season games with the Packers and Steelers in 2024.
Smith was traded from the Packers to the Steelers in early November, but he was actually more productive during his time in Green Bay. The veteran pass rusher recorded six more tackles and 0.5 more sacks as a Packer, playing 138 additional defensive snaps despite appearing in only one more game. Smith's time in Pittsburgh may also be nearing an end, as he was a healthy scratch in two of the team's final three games this season. However, Smith remains under contract through 2026, so he could very well stay in Pittsburgh and serve as a rotational edge rusher next season.
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Steelers' Preston Smith: Inactive for wild-card round
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Smith (coach's decision) is inactive for Saturday's wild-card game against the Ravens, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Smith was acquired by the Steelers from the Packers in early November, and across eight regular-season games he posted 13 tackles (six solo), including 2.0 sacks. However, the veteran edge rusher will be sidelined for Saturday's contest, which means Nick Herbig and Jeremiah Moon will serve as the backups behind starters T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
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Steelers' Preston Smith: Records sack in win
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Smith recorded three solo tackles, including 1.0 sacks and an additional tackle for a loss, in Sunday's 28-27 win over the Commanders.
The outside linebacker played Sunday after getting traded to the Steelers on Tuesday. Now, with Alex Highsmith dealing with a potentially serious ankle injury, Smith may be in line to see more snaps. The veteran had 19 tackles (six solo), including 2.5 sacks, in nine games with the Packers this season.
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Steelers' Preston Smith: Officially active for Week 10
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Smith is active for Sunday's game against Washington, Dale Lolley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Despite being acquired at the trade deadline Tuesday, Smith appears to have picked up the Steelers' defensive playbook well enough to make his Pittsburgh debut Sunday. He'll rotate with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith at outside linebacker, and Smith should see heavy usage immediately due to Nick Herbig (hamstring) being sidelined.
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Steelers' Preston Smith: Set to make team debut
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Smith will make his debut with the Steelers on Sunday against the Commanders, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Smith was acquired by the Steelers from the Packers on Tuesday, and the 2015 second-round pick picked up the defensive playbook quickly enough for Pittsburgh to clear him to play. Across his nine appearances with Green Bay, Smith accumulated 19 tackles (six solo) and 2.5 sacks. With Nick Herbig (hamstring) ruled out for Sunday's game, Smith should be the top choice to rotate in at outside linebacker behind starters T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Past illness
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Smith (illness) returned to practice Wednesday, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.
Smith missed Tuesday's practice with an illness, but it appears he's already moved past the issue after returning to the field Wednesday. The 31-year-old outside linebacker has recorded eight-plus sacks in each of his last three seasons, and he's expected to remain a solid pass rusher in 2024.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Falls ill
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Smith is being limited by an illness Tuesday, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.
The details of Smith's ailment are unknown at this point. It's not likely the veteran was planning on playing much during the Packers' preseason finale versus the Ravens on Saturday, but if he's absent, it could open up a few additional reps for 2023 first-rounder Lukas Van Ness.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Another productive season
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Smith stacked up 48 tackles (28 solo), 8.0 sacks, four passes defended and two fumble recoveries over 17 games in the 2023 regular season.
Smith played a little less than he did in 2022, but he still started every game and recorded at least 8.0 sacks for the fourth time in his five years with the Packers. He also added 1.5 sacks across the Packers' two playoff games. Green Bay could decide to move on from Smith over the offseason as he's due a $5.4 million roster bonus in March, but cutting him would incur a dead cap hit of nearly $14 million. The 31-year-old's consistent production might encourage the team to pursue a restructure instead.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Ready to go for divisional round
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Smith (ankle) does not carry an injury designation into Saturday's divisional-round contest versus the 49ers, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers official website reports.
Smith was considered a limited participant at the Packers' walkthrough Wednesday and he followed it up with a limited practice session Thursday, apparently doing enough to shed an injury designation for Saturday's game. The linebacker recorded a sack and a pass deflection in Green Bay's 48-32 win over the Cowboys in the wild-card round.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Limited Wednesday
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Smith (ankle) was limited in Wednesday's walk-through practice.
Smith has been dealing with the ankle issue for a couple weeks but was able to play through it in the wild-card upset of the Cowboys last weekend. After being estimated as DNP Tuesday, Wednesday's limited session in the walk-through is a good sign for his Saturday availability against the 49ers.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Begins week estimated as limited
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Smith (ankle) was estimated as limited at Wednesday's practice walkthrough.
Smith sat out a pair of practice sessions last week but was ultimately able to suit up for Sunday's win against Chicago. Barring any setbacks, it seems likely that he'll be able to take the field against Dallas in Sunday's wild-card contest. Smith recorded 2.5 sacks over the final three weeks of the campaign and finished with 8.0 sacks overall this season.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Impactful sack in win
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Smith had one sack and a forced fumble in Sunday's 33-10 win over the Vikings.
Smith stripped Jaren Hall late in the second quarter on a sack, causing a fumble recovered by Karl Brooks, and it led to a Jordan Love 25-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed three plays later. Smith is now up to 8.0 sacks this season -- just a half-sack short of his 2022 total -- and is second on the team behind Rashan Gary in that category.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Productive in win over Panthers
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Smith notched three tackles (two solo) and 1.5 sacks in Sunday's 33-30 win over the Panthers.
Smith was able to take advantage of Carolina's poor pass protection in the narrow Week 16 win, bringing his sack total to seven through 15 appearances on the season. Green Bay finishes the regular season with consecutive divisional matchups against the Vikings and Bears, both teams that have also proven vulnerable to an aggressive pass rush.
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Packers' Preston Smith: Adjusts contract
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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: 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.
