Smith Rewarded After Betting on Himself
DETROIT – Preston Smith needs one more sack to make another sack of money.
With or without it, a big sack of money could be on the horizon for the Green Bay Packers’ resurgent outside linebacker.
As part of the incentive-laden restructure he agreed to in March, Smith will pocket $750,000 if he reaches 10 sacks this season. He’s one away from that. That’s on top of the $750,000 he received for recording eight sacks and the $500,000 he pocketed for tallying six sacks.
That’s a total of $2 million in sack-based incentives – with another $1.2 million possible if he ends the 2021 regular season with a bang and collects three sacks on Sunday at Detroit to give him a season total of 12.
Smith was due to receive $12 million this season under the old deal. If he gets that 10th sack on Sunday, he’ll be up to $10 million.
It’s been a remarkable turn of events in Mike Smith’s outside linebackers room. Last season, Za’Darius Smith had 12.5 sacks and Preston Smith had only four. With 26 sacks and six forced fumbles in his first two seasons in Green Bay, Za’Darius Smith was viewed as one of the NFL’s premier defenders and the team’s defensive MVP. Preston Smith, meanwhile, looked like a potential cost-cutting cut as general manager Brian Gutekunst wrestled with the COVID-impacted salary cap.
Instead, Preston Smith agreed to an incentives-filled restructure that cut his cap charge from $16 million to about $8.7 million. Meanwhile, due to a back injury, Za’Darius Smith practiced only once during training camp, played 18 snaps in the opener and hasn’t even practiced since having surgery.
“I know that I sound like a broken record,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday of Za’Darius Smith’s potential return, “and you guys probably think I'm full of crap, but we're hopeful. But until he gets there, I really don't have a whole lot to add on that.”
While Za’Darius Smith’s place on the roster for next season is precarious at best – the team is about $48 million over next year’s cap and releasing him would take care of close to one-third of that total – Preston Smith’s play and leadership could make him a fixture on defense for 2022 and beyond.
He's recorded seven sacks in his last seven games to help lead the defensive charge.
“I just think it comes down to being in position to make plays. That’s what it comes down to,” he said on Thursday. “This year, I’ve been in a lot of positions to make plays and I’ve capitalized on those opportunities. We’ve got a lot of great guys around here who helped put me in position to make plays. I just go out there each and every week to try to do my best to produce for this team and to go out there and make plays to help this defense out and to do my best to produce for this team and help us play at a high level.”
When Joe Barry was hired as defensive coordinator, Smith – who played under Barry with Washington – was the one bridge player between the new defensive boss and the roster. Smith would be invaluable on three fronts. First, if there were any questions about Barry, who had almost no success in previous coordinators positions with Detroit and Washington, Smith had the answers. Second, Smith could help fill the void as a leader. And third, Smith could pick up the slack with sacks.
Check, check and check. Even without defensive stars Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith, Barry’s defense enters the Week 18 games ranked eighth in points allowed and the Packers are a league-best 13-3. Preston Smith has been a major reason why.
“I knew him when he was a little snot-nosed rookie when he came into this league,” Barry said of Smith, a second-round pick in 2015. “Obviously, you always hope that people as they get older, they mature and do things correctly all the time. Everything that Preston’s done, even away from football – he’s gotten married, he’s become a father and he’s just matured. It puts a smile on my face when he pulls the defense up and gives them a message, which he does quite often, and then goes and backs up what he’s said and how he’s challenged the defense. He goes out and backs it up with his play.
“Preston’s got incredible, God-given ability. The thing I’m probably most proud of is how hard he’s played this year. He’s really played with really maximum effort all year long. When you have a guy that has an incredible skill-set, you have a guy that is as talented as he is, and then he goes out and plays his tail off play in and play out, the end result is usually really good.”
Aaron Rodgers has raved about Smith all season. Rodgers’ presence is one reason why Smith elected to stay in Green Bay. When Rodgers was out with COVID, Smith was one of the players who checked on him every day. When Rodgers returned and beat Seattle on Nov. 14, a shutout that Smith preserved with a late sack, the two walked off the field, arm in arm.
“He’s the kind of guy, when he talks, he’s respected,” Rodgers said after last month’s victory over Chicago, a game in which Smith rallied the troops at halftime. “Guys listen to him and guys appreciate his messages. I love Preston. I can’t say enough good things about him. The opportunity to get to play with him, to get to become better friends with him, the messages that we share with each other during the week, I just really love the guy. I think he’s a good human, he’s a great player and I love what he brings to the team from a leadership standpoint. He’s stepped into that role even more this year and I’m very, very proud of him and proud to be his friend and proud to be his teammate.”
For Smith, it’s not about chasing sacks of cash. Smith bet on himself by returning to Green Bay and won. The Packers won, too. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith has 58 pressures in 425 pass-rushing snaps this season. Last year, he had 26 pressures in 401 pass-rushing snaps. Not just a pass rusher, his average tackle has come 1.1 yards downfield, 0.8 yards better than his previous career best and almost a full yard better than last year, according to Sports Info Solutions.
“When the season was over, really he sat down with me and we had a long talk and he knew what he had to come out and do this year,” Mike Smith said. “That's the thing I love about Preston. He doesn't have an ego or nothing like that. He's not sensitive.”
A rejuvenated Smith, along with rampaging Rashan Gary, look like bookend, building-block outside linebackers. They are one of five defensive duos with nine-plus sacks. For Smith to stick around might require a contract extension. As part of the revamped deal agreed to in March, Smith’s cap charge for 2022 is $19.75 million. Having turned 29 in November, he could be in line for an extension that locks him up for a few more years while taking some of the sting out of that cap number.
“I always had a lot of confidence, even in myself last year,” Smith said. “I knew I was going to have a way better season this year. I just go out there each week preparing to make plays. No matter how everything looks at the end of the game, I always prepare to make plays at a high level and do what I can for the team.
“I don’t pay attention to that [financial] stuff; that’s why I hire an agent [Rodney Edwards] to handle the off-the-field stuff. I just worry about the on-the-field stuff. I expect to play at a high level and make plays every game. Regardless of the stats, I try to do what I can to affect the opposing team quarterback and their offense in any way that I can, and let the rest play out for itself.”
