Getty Preston Smith #91 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates defeating the Los Angeles Rams 32-18 in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lambeau Field on January 16, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Preston Smith had to take a pay cut with the Green Bay Packers to ensure his place on this year’s roster after a lackluster season in 2020, but the veteran pass rusher never for a moment considered being anywhere other than Green Bay.
“No doubt in my mind, I knew I was going to be back,” Smith said after Monday’s training-camp practice. “I didn’t think that I was going to be anywhere else. This is where I want to be, this is where they wanted me to be.”
When the 2020 season ended, there was reasonable skepticism about whether Smith would return for the third year of his contract with the Packers. The 28-year-old outside linebacker had struggled to live up to the expectations he had set in his first season with the team in 2019, seeing his production fall in both sacks (12 to four) and total pressures (26 to 14). The Packers could have also saved somewhere between $8 million and $12 million if they opted to release Smith before the 2021 season began.
Instead, Smith agreed to reduce his pay — and free up about $7.25 million in cap space that the team used to re-sign star running back Aaron Jones — and take an incentive-laden deal that promised him another shot with an organization that his come one win away from reaching the Super Bowl in each of their past two campaigns.
“I understand business,” Smith said. “You’ve got to think logically, you can’t think with your feelings. So I’m thinking more like, ‘OK, I didn’t have a great year the year before, this is what’s needed if I want to be a part of something great.’ Which is what we’ve got around here, the culture that we’ve established since I’ve been here. And (then) keeping the team together. I took a pay cut, some of the guys took a restructure or whatever. And Aaron Jones is back. We’ve got Dave (Bakhtiari) back. We’ve got a lot of guys back that we needed, that were key pieces in us being successful as a team last year. I believed in the vision and I did what I had to do to be here.”
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Smith Focused on Not Repeating Bad Year
Smith’s production in 2020 was certainly underwhelming for someone who had been a major contributor opposite Za’Darius Smith one year earlier. Former Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine developed a greater interest in dropping Smith into pass coverage, a role that had belonged to Kyler Fackrell in 2019. The Packers also found more room for 2019 first-rounder Rashan Gary in the lineup, playing him on 212 more defensive snaps (44% total) than he had as a rookie
As Smith put it, his job in 2020 was to be more of a “team guy” than someone who was needed every game to bring consistent production to the table. And yet, with just six weeks standing between him and his third run with the Packers, Smith is locked in on making sure his on-field production reaches new heights.
“Not to have that season again, that’s a personal goal, and to be better than last year,” Smith said. “That’s always the goal, just to make sure I improve on a lot of areas that I didn’t execute that well last year. I want to make sure this season I improve on a lot of things I need to work on this offseason and making sure that this year I don’t have a repeat season like that.”
Cardio & Diet Changes Lead to Slim-Down
Back in June, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported the Packers believed “poor conditioning” was part of the reason for Smith’s noticeable dropoff in 2020. This was after Packers outside linebackers coach Mike Smith mentioned that Smith looked “leaner” during their spring OTAs than he had the previous year.
While Smith doesn’t put much stock in how a player’s weight can impact their performance as an edge rusher, he did acknowledge that some changes were made to his routine that has him looking skinnier, including adding more cardio into his routine and tweaking a few aspects of his diet.
“I just did a lot of cardio and made sure I was in shape and, like usual, that I was fit and ready to come back for the season,” Smith said. “I don’t think weight plays a factor in your role, in my personal opinion, but of course, I worked hard and did the best I can to be in the best shape I can for the team and myself.”