The Green Bay Packers are in desperate need of an edge rusher. Though the team’s defense posted solid sack numbers in 2024, Green Bay doesn’t have many productive players in the position group outside of Rashan Gary.
General manager Brian Gutekunst will likely look to address the need in April’s draft, but Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox predicts the Packers will also add an edge rusher through free agency by signing former Pittsburgh Steelers defender Preston Smith.
“While the Packers recorded 45 sacks as a team last season, Rashan Gary was the only Green Bay defender to record more than five. Smith logged 4.5 sacks with the Packers and Steelers last season and reached eight sacks in each of the previous three seasons,” Knox wrote.
Smith was subpar in 2024, as the veteran posted just 4.5 sacks and 18 quarterback pressures in 17 games. The 32-year-old was traded to the Steelers from the Packers during last year’s trade deadline but struggled to find a role in Pittsburgh’s defense.
Though Smith is getting older and had a down year in 2024, Green Bay should pursue a reunion with him. Smith posted three straight seasons with over eight sacks with the Packers from 2021 to 2023 and also had a 12-sack campaign in 2019. The veteran could still have some solid play left in him and will be incredibly cheap to sign
Smith won’t solve all of Green Bay’s issues at edge rusher, but the former Mississippi State standout would be a quality depth piece for the defense and could serve as a starter if needed.
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He’s also familiar with Matt LaFleur’s culture and has a ton of experience, starting 138 games in his ten-year career thus far.
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