Veteran edge rusher Preston Smith's career with the Pittsburgh Steelers will be shortlived. How much cap space will the team save after cutting him?
All fans can reasonably ask of their favorite team is for them to make good-process decisions. Nobody can guarantee a championship, but if decisions are made for the right reasons, allocating resources well and ensuring one’s actions simply make sense, meaningful football becomes more likely.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hit those marks at the trade deadline when they traded for Green Bay Packers edge rusher Preston Smith. Sometimes, however, things go sideways.
On Friday, the Steelers announced the release of the veteran edge rusher.
Cutting Smith quickly became the most obvious move of Pittsburgh’s offseason. But at the time of the trade, it was hard not to commend the move.
For one, Smith had wanted out of Green Bay in search of a better scheme fit. The Steelers, with a consistent four-man front, fit that requirement. They acquired him for just a 2025 seventh-round pick; for all intents and purposes, free.
He wasn’t playing particularly poorly at the time of a deal and logged 2.5 sacks through nine games. Pittsburgh was even rewarded for its trade in his Steelers debut, making a key stop against the Washington Commanders in a 28-27 win.
Smith finished his Pittsburgh career with two wins in eight games, playing in a part-time role made possible by the elite core of edge rushers already in the stable. With edge rusher T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig in the building, Smith just needed to be a reinforcement and a boost to the run defense.
Largely, he was, but when it came time for the defense to stop the run against the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round, the Steelers fell flat. Smith, acquired less than three months earlier, was a healthy scratch.
That all but sealed Smith’s chances of returning in 2025, but if there’s any solace, it’s the cap ramifications of the move. According to Over the Cap, Smith’s release will free $13.4 million in 2025 and $14.1 million in 2026, without adding to the team’s dead cap.
This was a low-risk, medium-reward move that happened to return an unfavorable outcome. It’s one more depth piece the Steelers will need to address in the offseason, but trading for Smith was a move they should’ve made every time.
