The Washington Redskins now have another hole to fill along their defense, as the Green bay Packers are set to sign former Redskins’ edge rusher Preston Smith, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Smith and the Packers have agreed on a four-year deal worth $52 million with $16 million guaranteed at signing.
The Packers have had a huge day as Smith becomes the team’s third signing as they overhaul their struggling defense. Green Bay also agreed to deals with linebacker Za’Darius Smith of the Baltimore Ravens and defensive back Adrian Amos from the Chicago Bears.
Smith was the Redskins’ second-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played in every game during his four seasons in Washington, starting a total of 50 games, including each game for the last three seasons. He had a total of 24.5 sacks in his career with the Redskins.
Last season, he finished with a career-high 53 tackles and added four sacks. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith averaged pressure per 8.3 pass-rush snaps in 2018, his career-best.
Still, there was concern about Smith’s ability to finish plays by actually sacking the quarterback. At times the lack of pressure has hampered the more dominant Ryan Kerrigan on the opposite side. Some of that was on Smith and some on the scheme of the Redskins.
Leaving Washington, Smith hopes to get the money he felt he deserved as well as the opportunity to get after the quarterback more often than he did with the Redskins.
For the Redskins, they now are in search of someone to play opposite of Kerrigan and be an actual upgrade from Smith for possibly a much more lower cap hit.
There is a good crop of edge rushers in free agency that may come with a bargain depending on the market rate. Names like Shane Ray, Jamie Collins, KJ Wright, and Shaquil Barrett head the list of viable options considering the type of cap space they command.
The Redskins hold the No. 15 pick in the first round of NFL Draft next month. While Nick Bosa of Ohio State and Josh Allen of Kentucky are top-3 prospects, CBS Sports has five other edge rushers in their top 30 overall, including Montez Sweat of Mississippi State and Clelin Ferrell of the national champion Clemson.
