The Green Bay Packers kicked off their preseason schedule on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. When all was said and done, the team suffered a 28-9 defeat.
While the games don’t matter, it’s important for a team to see what they have in both the starters they choose to play, but especially young players and depth pieces. For the Packers, one of the biggest storylines heading into the game was the kicker situation.
After trading up in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft to select former Florida kicker Trey Smack, Green Bay felt like he was the guy. However, Smack has gone through some struggles during camp leading up to the season.
In recent years, the Packers have had some incredibly tough luck on the kicker front. Last season, Brandon McManus was a big reason why they suffered a brutal collapse in the Wild Card playoff matchup against the Chicago Bears. Green Bay can’t afford to have another bad kicker situation.
Smack helped alleviate some of the concern on Thursday night.
Packers Rookie Kicker Trey Smack Had a Big Preseason Opener
On the first drive of the game, Smack had an opportunity to show off his leg. He attempted and made a 58-yard field goal attempt, but the Steelers were called for a penalty that allowed the Packers to take the kick off the board and get the offense back out on the field.
Later in that drive, Smack made a 37-yard field goal.
He proceeded to make two more field goals throughout the rest of the game. Smack had another chance at a 58-yard attempt and made it, then closed out his field goal kicking with a 38-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Smack accounted for literally every point that Green Bay scored in the game.
Matt LaFleur Spoke Out Strongly About Trey Smack After the Game
Following the conclusion of the game, it didn’t take long for head coach Matt LaFleur to speak out about his rookie kicker. He was pleased with what he saw.
“Cam [Achord] was telling me no, I told him yes. But to put him in that situation and to hit two (58-yarders) in one game in pretty incredible,” LaFleur said.
While he was happy with the rookie’s debut, LaFleur also made it clear that Smack has to continue stacking kicks and making the Packers feel comfortable with him as the starter.
“Really strong first performance. Now he’s got to stack on it.”
Next up for Green Bay will be a second preseason game against the Denver Broncos on August 21. Hopefully, Smack will be able to have another strong performance and begin taking control of the kicker situation and turning it into a strength.
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