Brian Gutekunst puts faith in himself with Packers trade deadline sell

The Green Bay Packers fell to a 6-3 record after their 24-14 loss against the Detroit Lions in Week 9. The Packers could have taken first place in the dominant NFC North division, but they now found themselves trailing the Lions by two games.

The pivotal divisional game will likely to have playoff implications, but Green Bay still has Super Bowl aspirations. They currently hold the third and final NFC Wild Card spot with a 63 percent playoff probability, per NFL Next Gen Stats. 

Despite their hopes of making a postseason run, Green Bay decided to sell rather than buy before the trade deadline at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The Packers traded veteran pass rusher Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday.

The move came as a bit of a surprise, but it highlighted Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst’s youth movement.

Brian Gutekunst is taking a gamble by trading Preston Smith

By trading Smith, the Packers have opened opportunities for linebacker Lukas Van Ness, who was selected with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and third-year defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. 

Gutekunst told reporters on Tuesday that the Packers are also hoping to get defensive ends Arron Mosby and Brenton Cox more involved.

"We're excited to see both of those guys, see some more snaps," Gutekunst said, h/t NFL.com. "I think certainly they've earned it. I thought they did a really nice job in training camp, and they've continued that through practice. Allowing these two guys to get on the field a little bit and maybe some snaps to go to some other guys, too, I think will help us.”

Smith posted at least eight sacks in four of his five seasons in Green Bay, but he saw a dip in his production under new Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s 4-3 defense this season. The 31-year-old had just a 7.1 quarterback pressure rate on 156 pass rush snaps, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Smith’s $14.1 salary cap hit in 2025 also ensured that this season would be his last in Green Bay.

The 31-year-old pass rusher played just 54 percent of the team’s defensive snaps through nine games this season, the fewest of his career since his rookie season in 2015.

Still, the move is a gamble for Gutekunst. Van Ness didn’t start a game during his collegiate career at Iowa and he has yet to start in the NFL. He recorded four sacks, 32 tackles and 10 quarterback hits as a rookie. This season, he only has one sack and two quarterback hits.

Enagbare hasn’t done much better when it comes to generating pressure. The 24-year-old has recorded only 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits this season.

"From that entire group, we need more from those guys as we move forward into the second half of the season, and I think we'll get that," Gutekunst said. "I like the way they work. They've got to continue to keep pushing."

Van Ness has played only 41 percent of the team’s defensive snaps this season, and Enagbare has played just 43 percent. Their production will have to go up as their snaps continue to rise.