Earlier this year, the Green Bay Packers made the surprising decision to trade defensive end Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a seventh round pick. The move came at the request of Smith, who did not see himself fitting well in Jeff Hafley’s defensive scheme. From 2019-2023, the former Washington Commanders star accumulated 41.5 sacks as a member of the Packers, an average of 8.3 per season.
But this year, in nine games played for Green Bay, he had just 2.5.
Unfortunately for Smith, it does not seem like he is any better off with the Steelers. In seven games played since the trade happened on November 5, he has recorded just one sack.
Green Bay Packers Stud Brenton Cox Goes Viral After the Pittsburgh Steelers Bench Preston Smith
As many fans are aware, the Steelers played on Christmas Day against the Kansas City Chiefs. They were defeated 29-17, suffering their third-consecutive loss. At 10-6, Pittsburgh has already clinched a spot in the NFL Playoffs, but appear to be fading down the stretch.
What is more, they played that game with Smith, who was a listed as a healthy inactive player for the game (along with another former Packers defensive lineman, Dean Lowry):
Inactives for #KCvsPIT ⤵️ @UPMCSportsMed
📝: https://t.co/imYsndR2Hh pic.twitter.com/m3CfchFGeY
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 25, 2024
As mentioned, Smith has just one sack in seven games played since he was traded by Green Bay. In six games that the Packers have played since the transaction, second-year pass rusher Brenton Cox has been playing more (which isn’t saying much as he did not play at all before the trade).
In those six games, Cox has 4.0 sacks and four quarterback pressures.
When the news of Smith being inactive despite being healthy hit social media, Packers fans were quick to praise Cox:
Preston Smith was inactive for the Steelers on Christmas. Meanwhile, Brenton Cox Jr. had five pressures and a sack in 26 snaps for the Packers two days earlier.
— Michael Rodney (@PackersNotes) December 26, 2024
Preston Smith a healthy scratch yesterday for the Steelers. Brenton Cox looks legit. Seems like that trade has aged very well. https://t.co/iDFL1xk5Rp
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) December 26, 2024
Brenton Cox stock to the moon. 📈
— Dr. Dubster (@thedubsterr) December 25, 2024
What is more, Cox was the highest-graded pass rusher in the entire NFL in Week 16, according to PFF:
Brenton Cox Jr among edge defenders in Week 16:
🧀 88.7 PFF grade (1st)
🧀 89.6 pass rush grade (3rd)
🧀 43.8% pass rush win rate (3rd)
🧀 31.3% pressure rate (3rd) pic.twitter.com/Fw8W1Oj7Jm— PFF GB Packers (@PFF_Packers) December 24, 2024
Fans may recall that Cox made the 53-man roster in 2023 despite being an undrafted free agent. Character concerns from his college days at Georgia and Florida led many teams to leave him off their board.
The Packers, though, gave him a chance and now it is finally paying off for both parties.
Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley Has High Praise for Brenton Cox
Dan Powers
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Hafley had a great deal of praise for his second-year pass rusher, who has emerged as one of the best defensive players the Packers have had in recent weeks:
LIVE: Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley meets with the media 🎙️ https://t.co/sInWnpCADI
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 26, 2024
“I clearly remember the day he was on the look team, and our guys were having trouble blocking him.
“It’s a guy buying in and getting better… This guy has earned the right to play… The beautiful thing is he’s getting better.”
Last week, Cox played 26 defensive snaps, or 46% of the plays on defense. It was his career-high in that category.
It will be interesting to see how much he plays going forward because he clearly is performing at a high level.
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