How Much of an Impact Will Preston Smith Make on Steelers’ Defense?
While trading for Mike Williams helped the Pittsburgh Steelers address their most important need, it was another move that wound up becoming one of the biggest at the entire trade deadline, as the Black & Gold acquired outside linebacker Preston Smith from the Green Bay Packers. In return, the Packers received a seventh round draft pick for 2025.
Smith provides the Steelers with 10 seasons of experience, while recording 68.5 career sacks, which are 14th most among active NFL players. Prior to the trade, the last time the Steelers brought in a veteran edge rusher that compiled at least 60 sacks, before arriving to Pittsburgh, was Kevin Greene, who signed a free agent deal in 1993.
While TJ Watt is being his usual dominant self, and once again, in the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Alex Highsmith has been playing well; albeit dealing with a groin injury earlier in the season. As for Nick Herbig, he’s been working his way back from a hamstring issue.
The Steelers had re-signed Markus Golden, in the early going of training camp, however, he chose to retire a week later. Jeremiah Moon has seen brief action on the edge, but is used most on special teams. Defensive lineman turned linebacker DeMarvin Leal sustained a neck injury in Week 5, and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. For GM Omar Khan, the time probably felt right, to make a big splash, for strong, edge rushing depth.
A few weeks before the deadline, Smith had reportedly requested a trade, this after not feeling comfortable in a 4-3 defense, which Green Bay had switched over to this season. In 9 games, he had recorded 2.5 sacks, while only getting 54% of the defensive snaps, so his reasoning appears valid.
Although Smith finds himself back in a 3-4 style of defense, his remaining contract doesn’t come cheap. Following this year, in which the Steelers will pay $2 million, he’s owed $12 million in 2025 and $12.6 million in 2026.
Talent-wise, Smith certainly has the ability to give the Steelers an even more powerful boost to the OLB group. How Mike Tomlin will handle the number of snaps on defense for Smith is key. During the 2021 season, the Steelers had Melvin Ingram as the third OLB option, but unhappiness, with how much Ingram was used, led to him wanting out of Pittsburgh, and being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. While Smith is saying all the right things since his arrival, time will tell how he’ll respond to certain amount of playing time.