Hearing that Preston Smith requested a trade from the Green Bay Packers made me a bit leery. It isn’t his fault, but more so some distrust built up by the likes of Melvin Ingram, who requested his way out of town after being dissatisfied with his role behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
The Steelers pay their top two edge rushers well and thus play them for a majority of the team’s snaps. Therein lies the conundrum of trying to add a solid veteran edge rusher behind them.
Smith is in his 10th season and found himself on the Steelers just a few weeks after requesting a trade from the Packers. They switched to a 4-3 system that didn’t fit his skill set. He is happy to be back in a 3-4 system in Pittsburgh and says he isn’t worried about his role.
“I’m just here to embrace my role to help those guys out as much as I can,” Smith said after practice today in a video posted by Steelers Live on X. “If they need a break, I’m gonna be there for ’em to get a break. Whatever the rotation may be, I’m here to accept my role and contribute the best way possible.”
He doesn’t have many options at this point, as the trade deadline has already passed. Over the years, the Steelers have been pretty clear that they want volunteers and not hostages. Most players who request trades get them in a hurry. He could try to ask for his release, but it doesn’t seem like he has the mindset that Ingram seemed to have a few years ago.
This won’t be a one-to-one comparison, but DeMarvin Leal had five, four, and eight snaps in the first three games of the season when all four OLBs were healthy. Smith is obviously a better player and much more experienced than Leal. Still, I wouldn’t anticipate him getting dramatically more snaps than what Leal saw as long as everybody is healthy.
When Highsmith was out with an injury, Leal got 22 and 12 snaps in the two games before Leal ended up getting injured. Smith is a much better insurance policy than Highsmith, and he has only missed one game in his 10-season career so far.
“I’m just happy to be here. I’m just ready to win, and obviously, they made the moves that they felt like were right for the team, and I’m happy to be a part of those moves,” Smith said. “And if they feel like I can help them win, I’m happy that they feel that way, and I’m gonna do everything in my power to prove them right.”
Hopefully, there will be no rash of injuries at outside linebacker, but history tells us that Smith will be needed at some point down the stretch. T.J. Watt got injured in Week 18 last year, for example. It seems like he has the right attitude entering the team. Like he said, he is just happy to be in Pittsburgh.
Nick Herbig is currently working his way back from a hamstring injury, so Preston Smith could be the top backup as soon as this Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
