Former Packers star predicted to retire in stunning turn of events

Last year, the Green Bay Packers traded edge rusher Preston Smith midway through the season. It appeared to be a head-scratching move at the time. After all, the Packers were contending, and they shipped out someone who had been one of their most productive pass-rushers for years.

It actually proved to be a sound decision by Green Bay, however, as Smith logged just 13 tackles and two sacks in eight games with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. Now, he remains unsigned in free agency, and Ryan Heckman of Lombardi Ave actually feels Smith could be forced into retirement.

“At 32 years old, Smith might be done,” Heckman wrote. “The Steelers cut him to save some money, chose not to bring him back on a friendly deal and, honestly, it very well could be time to call it a career, barring one more last-ditch effort from a desperate team.”

Smith totaled 32 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 17 games between the Packers and Steelers in 2024, also amassing just six quarterback hits. Meanwhile, in 2023, he racked up 48 tackles, eight sacks and 21 quarterback hits for the Cheeseheads.

While it’s entirely possible that Smith simply had a down year last season, the incredibly sharp downturn is obviously concerning, as is the fact that no teams have expressed interest in him on the open market.

Perhaps Smith will be able catch on somewhere, but it should be noted that there are other better edge-rushers available, such as Matthew Judon and fellow former Packer Za’Darius Smith.

The Mississippi State product began his career in Washington back in 2015 and eventually made his way to the tundra in 2019, where he broke out with 12 sacks. That represented the lone double-digit sack campaign of his career, but he remained incredibly productive throughout most of his time with the Packers.