The Green Bay Packers don’t necessarily need to be sellers at the NFL’s trade deadline, but if general manager Brian Gutekunst wants to offload an expensive veteran to help clear the way for a young player, trading veteran edge rusher Preston Smith could make sense at some point between now and Tuesday’s deadline.
Smith turns 31 in December. Over 271 defensive snaps this season, Smith has 2.0 sacks, five quarterback hits, 13 total pressures and 15 defensive stops, per PFF. Next year, Smith has a $5.4 million roster bonus due, and his cap number jumps from $6.4 million this year to $16.5 million in 2024.
A contending team in need of help at edge rusher could see Smith — who has no more guaranteed money in his deal if traded — as a valuable addition down the stretch. The Packers could see a trade as a way to add help now or draft capital next year and get first-round pick Lukas Van Ness and emerging second-year edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare on the field more in 2023.
Trading Smith would clear $1 million off the Packers’ salary cap in 2023, add $14 million in dead money on the salary cap in 2024, and save $2.5 million overall next year.
Considering how cheap Smith would be for the acquiring team, it’s possible a market has emerged or could emerge before Tuesday.
A trade is a scenario the 2-4 Packers would have to consider should a team come calling. Smith is a veteran leader on defense, but his age and contract don’t mesh with a young team in transition, and the Packers — who have lost three straight games — probably wouldn’t mind getting more snaps for Van Ness, Enagbare and even rookie Brenton Cox Jr. this year.
Could a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders work, considering the Raiders’ need for edge-rushing help opposite Maxx Crosby? What about Smith for receiver Hunter Renfrow, who needs a fresh start elsewhere and could add some much-needed experience at receiver in Green Bay? Player-for-player trades are rare in the NFL, and the Packers would likely prefer a draft pick, but the Packer and Raiders might have similar goals. If not the Raiders, plenty of other teams would like to get better or deeper at edge rusher.
Smith has sacks in back-to-back games but he missed Thursday’s practice with an illness. He was originally signed as a free agent in 2019 and has spent the last five seasons in Green Bay.
Back in 2018, Gutekunst traded away safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and running back Ty Montgomery before the deadline.