The NFL trade deadline falls on Tuesday, which is also Halloween this year. The Green Bay Packers are 2-5 and in prime position to sell. They have a few players who could net some assets from contending teams. However, most of the offensive players are either too young or injured for Brian Gutenkunst and Green Bay’s front office to sell.
But the Packers have some veterans on defense who could entice playoff-caliber teams. De’Vondre Campbell is a valuable off-ball linebacker who can make plays. Safety Darnell Savage is an athletic player, but he’s injured. Therefore, Preston Smith is Green Bay’s most marketable asset.
In Gutenkunst’s first free agency, he signed 26-year-old Preston Smith to a four-year, $52 million contract during the summer of 2019. Gutekunst paired Smith’s deal with a massive Za’Darius Smith signing to give the Packers a revamped edge rusher room. Preston Smith is still here; his partner in crime is not.
Preston Smith has recorded 37.5 sacks in Green Bay. That’s the most on the team during that span. Rashan Gary is now the Packers’ premier edge rusher, but Preston Smith still gets the job done as an outside linebacker. However, Smith is having a down season by his standards. Still, he has been an effective outside linebacker and pass rusher.
Preston Smith shows he still has a lot of burst and jump. He can get around the end and then shred right through the help on the backside. He does not make the tackle in the clip below, but he gets in Kirk Cousins‘ face and gets a hit on the quarterback.
Preston Smith makes the entire play above. The veteran keeps his head up, reads the play, and pushes his man back into the ball carrier. That forces a tackle for loss. Smith forces Akers back inside, so even if Smith can’t make the play as Akers runs outside, his buddies will be there to clean it up when Akers goes inside. Beautiful stuff.
Smith went one-on-one with Christian Darrisaw, Minnesota’s elite tackle. Darrisaw has no help in the clip below, making this a prime matchup. Smith uses his leverage to swim around the tackle and get a hit on Cousins. It would have gone down as a sack if Cousins had held on to the ball any longer. Instead, Smith’s pressure and hit wear the QB down a bit. Good play.
While Preston Smith should not be in coverage on any team’s premier offensive weapon, he can cover skill players in a pinch. In the play above, he sticks with T.J. Hockenson in the end zone. Smith presses Hockenson behind the line of scrimmage and follows him to the sideline. He then keeps his head up and makes a play on the ball to force an incompletion. Smith should never be in this position, but he shows he’s capable in coverage.
The value of picks changes every year based on the assets available at the deadline. Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles acquired edge rusher Robert Quinn from the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick. Quinn is a similar player to Smith. Both players are established veterans who have multiple seasons of double-digit sacks on their resume. Quinn fetched the Chicago Bears a fourth-round pick. I’d expect a similar return for the Packers.
Green Bay doesn’t have much to lose. Sitting at 2-5, the pick that Smith would land them is going to be a far more valuable contribution to the organization. Smith has shown that he still will be able to play well for a long time. For a contending team, he could be a valuable asset as a veteran defender with loads of playoff experience. Smith defends the run well, can pressure the quarterback, and has a history of high sack numbers. The phones in Green Bay should be ringing.
All stats and data via ESPN or PFF unless otherwise noted.
