In the spirit of making sure everything isn’t just good enough to get by but has the chance to be great — something the Philadelphia Eagles have become masters at in recent years — there is work that still might need to be done to make sure the defending Super Bowl champions have an elite defense in 2025.
The one spot where the Eagles seem to have the most room for improvement this laee in the offseason would be at edge rusher, where Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks veteran sack artist and free agent Preston Smith might be a perfect fit. Knox listed helping the Eagles’ pass rush as the team’s big remaining task for the offseason.
One look at Smith’s production in recent years might make a rational thinking person prefer him over a big name like Von Miller, even.
“Defensively, general manager Howie Roseman should have an eye out for pass-rushing help,” Knox wrote on June 17. “The Eagles did sign Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari in free agency, but they also lost Josh Sweat and recently traded Bryce Huff to the San Francisco 49ers. They also lost Brandon Graham to retirement this offseason. Philadelphia’s new-look pass-rushing rotation should be more than functional, but adding a player like Von Miller or Preston Smith couldn’t hurt.”
Smith Put Together Quietly Dominant NFL Career
Smith has been a quietly dominant and ultra reliable player throughout his decade-long NFL career. His numbers show a player who should be much more well known than he is … although he’s been paid like a star with approximately $77.3 million in career earnings.
That’s pretty good considering Smith has never made a Pro Bowl or earned NFL All-Pro honors, although you can make a good case he should have several times.
Smith, 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, turned in a dominant final season at Mississippi State in 2014 with 48 tackles, 9.0 sacks, 15 TFL, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles on the way to All-SEC honors. His performance propelled him into the second round of the 2015 NFL draft, where he was selected No. 38 overall by the Washington Commanders.
Smith’s most incredible stat is that he’s played in 163 out of a possible 164 regular season games in his 10 NFL seasons and has averaged 7.4 sacks per year.
He’s also made 138 career starts and has over 8.0 sacks in a single season 6 times, including a career high 12.0 sacks in 2019, but never had less than 4.0 sacks in a single season. Smith also figured out a way to use his size and athleticism in different ways — he has 5 career interceptions and 27 career pass deflections.
Smith played 4 seasons in Washington before he signed a 4-year, $52 million contract with the Green Bay Packers in 2019. He re-upped on a 4-year, $52.5 million contract extension with the Packers in 2022 and was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers midway through the 2024 season and was released by the Steelers on February 14.
How Eagles Could Bring Smith Into Fold
Philadelphia can offer Smith something few other teams in the NFL can — a real chance to win the Super Bowl. The defending Super Bowl champions already have elite players in place on both sides of the ball and have a real chance to repeat.
As far as a contract, the Eagles might start with a 1-year, $3 million offer with room to move up to $5 million if needed.
