The 2025 offseason is in full swing. Teams are already looking at ways they can improve their rosters for next season.
This past season, the Packers shipped out linebacker Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in November for a 2025 seventh-round pick. Some fans were disappointed to get so little in return for a six-year starter in Green Bay, and a big first game with the Steelers gave some credence to those complaints.
But the latest on Smith proves without a doubt that the Packers were right to simply get whatever they could for him.
We have released LB Preston Smith. @BordasLaw
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 14, 2025
NFL News: Preston Smith Gets Released by Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced the release of Preston Smith, saving them $13.4 million in salary cap space for 2025. That was a no-brainer after Smith's performance with the Steelers. He finished with 13 total tackles and two sacks. The 32-year-old was inactive for two of the team's last three games, including the Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Smith signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2019 and stuck around for almost six seasons. In 91 games for Green Bay, he finished with 262 total tackles, 42 TFLs, 96 QB hits, and 44 sacks.
He was the one who requested a trade after he felt less valuable in new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's defensive scheme.
The Packers used Smith's departure to give younger guys like Brenton Cox Jr. and Kingsley Enagbare more snaps. Cox Jr. played in at least 25% of defensive snaps in eight games from Week 11 to Week 19. He notched 12 total tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble. He showed great flashes in his increased playing time, logging a 72.2 overall grade (40th among 211 eligible EDGE defenders) per PFF.
As for Enagbare, he took advantage of the uptick of defensive snaps. From Week 11-Week 18, the 25-year-old has played more than 50% of the snaps in five games. This season, he logged 39 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
The Packers will lean on those two guys during the 2025 campaign and Smith will look to latch onto another team for next season.