New Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Preston Smith may have just arrived in the city but he already feels right at home. Acquired by the Steelers from the Green Bay Packers ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for a pittance, a 2025 seventh-round pick, Smith spoke to reporters for the first time Wednesday.
“Just getting out here, getting back in the system I’m comfortable being in and playing at a high level, man,” Smith said via The Trib’s Chris Adamski. “I’m loving right now, Day 1.”
Smith had a reduced role with Green Bay this season, playing barely more than one-third of the defense’s snaps in the Packers’ Week 9 loss to the Detroit Lions. It wasn’t for a lack of availability. Smith has missed just one game in his NFL career. Instead, he no longer fit in the Packers’ system.
“It’s just what I’ve been playing in the last nine years of my career,” Smith said via Adamski when asked why he’s more comfortable with the Steelers. “Until this past season is what I was comfortable playing in and what I’ve been, what I got used to playing in the previous nine seasons. Just being back in the system, it’s like riding your favorite bike again.”
Green Bay hired Jeff Hafley as their new defensive coordinator, Hafley leaving the college ranks after serving as Boston College’s head coach. The move has paid off as the Packers have an above-average defense, but it required a scheme change. The Packers switched away from their 3-4 to a 4-3, forcing a veteran like Smith to adjust to a new role. Other and younger players like Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare were more natural fits and increased their playing time. It left Smith to request a trade out of Green Bay.
“I got what I asked for,” Smith said via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo.
Now, Smith is back in a 3-4 system one the Steelers have been running for a generation. He’ll play on his feet, focus on rushing the passer, and be given the freedom to play fast and aggressive when he’s on the field. Though he turns 32 later this month, he’s been consistent with underrated career production. Since being drafted in 2015, his 68.5 sacks tie for 13th in the NFL with new teammate DL Cam Heyward.
With the Steelers, he’ll no longer be a starter, something he technically was in each game with the Packers this season. But Smith will trade that for the chance to play in a scheme he can thrive in, and he’ll come off the bench with fresh legs to minimize the drop-off when T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith leave the field.
