The Pittsburgh Steelers have made their final decision on edge rusher Preston Smith.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Feb. 14 that the Steelers have released Smith. The Steelers acquired the veteran edge rusher from the Green Bay Packers at the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 5.
Smith posted two sacks with 13 combined tackles, including three tackles for loss in eight regular season games with the Steelers. He also had two quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.
Smith was inactive for the Steelers playoff matchup versus the Baltimore Ravens.
Steelers Moving on From Edge Rusher Preston Smith
Pittsburgh releasing Smith doesn’t come as a shock at all. Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine wrote on Jan. 20 that Smith was “destined for free agency” this offseason.
That’s because with his release, the Steelers cleared all of his $13.4 million salary for the 2025 season. The team won’t have any dead money as the result of his release.
Smith was a nice depth edge rusher for the Steelers to end the 2024 campaign. But $13.4 million was going to be too much to spend on a backup defender next season.
With the move, the Steelers jumped to 14th in salary cap space according to Spotrac. The team has a little more than $43.1 million in cap space as of Feb. 15.
In 10 NFL seasons, Smith has posted 70.5 sacks. He has also registered 443 combined tackles, including 74 for loss, 157 quarterback hits and 10 forced fumbles. Furthermore, he’s had 27 pass defenses and five interceptions.
His best statistical season came in 2019 when he had 12 sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 23 quarterback hits. Smith started 88 games for the Packers from 2019-24.
He began his career as a 2015 second-round pick for the then Washington Redskins. He started 50 of 64 contests with Washington from 2015-18.
With the Packers and Steelers in 2024, Smith had 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and six quarterback hits in 17 games. He played roughly two-thirds of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in the first half of the season.
In Pittsburgh, Smith played 30% of the team’s defensive snaps. He had the rare opportunity to play in 18 games during the regular season, but the Steelers made Smith inactive in Week 17 versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
Steelers Edge Rushing Depth Entering Offseason
With the release of Smith, the Steelers lost some valuable edge rushing depth. However, the team is still in a very good position along the edge.
Obviously, the team still has annual Defensive Player of the Year candidate T.J. Watt. Fellow starting edge rusher Alex Highsmith is actually signed to a longer-term deal than Watt.
Watt will be a free agent next offseason, but the Steelers signing him to another long-term deal will likely be a goal for the organization during the summer.
The Steelers also possess Nick Herbig, who will be entering his third season in 2025. Herbig played about half of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps in 2024 and posted 5.5 sacks with five tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits.
He’s also been following Watt’s knack for making big plays. Herbig posted six forced fumbles in his first two seasons, including four in 2024.
With those three edge rushers set to return in 2025, Smith was expendable, especially at his high cap hit.
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