The Green Bay Packers on Tuesday traded pass rusher Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick.
The Packers’ trade of Smith, who has amassed at least eight sacks in each of the last three seasons, was widely regarded as a surprising move. But some clarity on the trade emerged from Smith himself on Wednesday.
Following his first practice in Pittsburgh, Smith met with the media and revealed that he had requested a trade out of Green Bay—and that the Packers’ front office had complied with his request. Kevin Gorman of Tribune-Review Sports shared video of Smith’s media session.
Edge rusher Preston Smith says he requested a trade from Green Bay, which switched to a 4-3 so he was excited to return to a 3-4 defense with the Steelers. pic.twitter.com/pkK8qx5mPS
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) November 6, 2024
“A few weeks ago, I requested a trade,” Smith said. “I didn’t feel like I was being useful in the system. It wasn’t catering to my play style. Moving forward, I wasn’t surprised when I got the call.
“I got what I asked for.”
Smith, who recorded 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits in nine games with Green Bay this season, explained that he was not a good fit in Packers first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s 4-3 defense, and that Pittsburgh’s 3-4 alignment was a return to the familiarity of the past nine years of his career.
“It’s just what I’ve been playing in the last nine years of my career until this last season,” Smith said. “It’s what I feel comfortable playing in, what I got used to playing in. Just being back in the system is like riding your favorite bike again.”
Smith, who ranks 16th on the NFL’s career active sacks list with 68.5, joins a Steelers defensive front that features four-time All-Pro and 2021 Defensive Player of The Year T.J. Watt, three-time All-Pro Cameron Heyward and 2022 breakout linebacker Alex Highsmith.
Pittsburgh (6-2) travels to Washington to take on the Commanders (7-2) in Week 10.
