Steelers Now
A former outside linebacker of the Pittsburgh Steelers is heading back to the NFC.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Preston Smith is signing with the Washington Commanders ahead of Week 3 of the 2025 regular season, according to NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo.
Smith, 32, was traded to the Steelers by the Green Bay Packers at the trade deadline last season in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. His contract ran through the end of the 2026 season, with salaries of $13.4 million in 2025 and $14.1 million in 2026, but Pittsburgh released him this offseason in a salary cap savings move.
He served mostly as a reserve for the Steelers, slotting in behind starting linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith and backup Nick Herbig in the team’s edge rusher rotation, and finished his 2024 campaign with 32 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
After the trade deadline, Smith played in eight games, recording 13 tackles, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and two sacks in Pittsburgh. He also had one fumble recovery.
Smith began his NFL career as the No. 38 overall pick in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft by Washington. Now he will return to and potentially finish where it all started.
His most productive season came in 2019, when he recorded 56 tackles, 12 sacks, one forced fumble, four passes defensed and one interception in 16 games.
Smith played his college football at Mississippi State. He appeared in eight games as a true freshman in 2011 and then in all 13 the following year. As a junior in 2013, Smith recorded 2.5 sacks, and finished strong as a senior in 2014 with 42 tackles, nine sacks, two interceptions and a touchdown.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Smith has 442 tackles, 70.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, 27 passes defensed and five interceptions in his 10-year NFL career.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Former Steelers Linebacker Joins NFC Contender
