For 11 seasons as a pro, erstwhile Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher Preston Smith was a Swiss Watch. Durable and always ticking. Calling him a former Steeler feels like a misnomer, even if it's technically accurate. He was only on the roster for half a reason. Before becoming a Steeler, he had played in all 155 of his career games. However, as minicamps are beginning, Smith is healthy and unsigned.
The cracks were there. During the 2024 season, Smith nearly joined a small club of players who’ve been active for all 18 weeks, due to Green Bay trading him before their bye week and after Pittsburgh’s. Then, Smith was inactive for their Christmas Day matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, ending a decade-plus Ironman run. Smith was also held out for Pittsburgh’s Wild Card loss to Baltimore. Smith’s streak ending was a harbinger of his offseason.
Smith’s value diminished when he failed to pressure the quarterback as efficiently as he was accustomed to in 2024. For the bulk of his career, Smith was a sack artist, flattening quarterbacks on the gridiron canvas. Smith recorded at least eight sacks on six different occasions in that period.
However, he’d begun to lose his brush stroke. Smith struggled to fit in new defensive coordinator Jeff Haflry’s 4-3 scheme after a decade-plus as a flag-waving 3-4 pass-rushing technician. A combination of fit and age made him a cheap player to acquire. Trading for Smith only cost Pittsburgh a 2025 seventh-round pick at a time when injuries decimated the Steelers' depth at outside linebacker.
Unfortunately, as a Steeler, Smith’s output didn’t live up to his reputation. In eight games on the roster, Smith registered just two sacks and one fumble recovery which made it an easy decision for the Steelers to move on.
The Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from Preston Smith at the right time
In February, the Steelers wasted no time waving Smith and his $13 million salary. Some players don’t retire because the game retires them. As a flurry of spry young pass rushers flood rosters around the league vets such as Smith find themselves fighting to latch on.
Given his declining productivity and his inability to produce on two different rosters in 2024, interest in him was bound to be minimal. At 33, he’d be the third-oldest member of the Steelers defense behind Big Play Slay and Cam Hayward. The list of pass rushers who reignite their careers while aging into their 30s is remarkably thin. NFL general managers view pass rushers like Leonardo DiCaprio views his dating options. They tend to skew young. Playing a position that destroys bodies in trench warfare, twists fingers, and results in dozens of collisions a game with mobile 320-pound security gates wears on a body.
Smith is unlikely to garner a significant payday. Still, a return to Pittsburgh closer to training camp remains possible if injuries hit. A year ago, Cam Heyward also appeared to be on a fast track to irrelevancy before a surge in year 35 catapulted him back to All-Pro status. Smith’s odds of repeating that kind of resurgence are long. But as long as rosters need veteran depth, the door may not be entirely shut.