{"id":7431,"date":"2024-11-08T03:58:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T03:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=7431"},"modified":"2024-11-08T03:58:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T03:58:38","slug":"steelers-mike-tomlin-speaks-out-on-surprise-preston-smith-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=7431","title":{"rendered":"Steelers\u2019 Mike Tomlin Speaks Out on Surprise Preston Smith Trade.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/GettyImages-2172290612.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/GettyImages-2172290612.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/GettyImages-2172290612.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/GettyImages-2172290612.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Mike Tomlin Preston Smith\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"147\" data-dom-ready-time=\"157\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span>Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addresses the team acquiring edge rusher Preston Smith at the NFL trade deadline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0unsurprising added wide receiver\u00a0Mike Williams\u00a0before the NFL trade deadline on November 5. But\u00a0the Steelers turned heads\u00a0by also acquiring edge rusher\u00a0Preston Smith.<\/p>\n<p>In his first media session after the trades, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin explained what went into the team\u2019s decision to add Smith to their edge rushing room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re just stacking our chips. This is an arms race,\u201d Tomlin told the media on November 6. \u201cIt\u2019s highly competitive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the road gets narrow, we better have capable people, and obviously, 68.5 career sacks, he\u2019s capable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Steelers landed Smith in a trade from the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0for a 2025 seventh-round pick.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Preston Smith\u2019s Expected Role With Steelers<\/h2>\n<p>Unlike Williams, who will likely start opposite\u00a0George Pickens\u00a0at wide receiver, the Steelers didn\u2019t acquire Smith to be a starting solution.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the Steelers already have one of the top edge rushing duos in\u00a0T.J. Watt\u00a0and\u00a0Alex Highsmith. Second-year edge rusher\u00a0Nick Herbig also gives the Steelers a great depth edge defender.<\/p>\n<p>Smith will sit behind those three edge rushers on Pittsburgh\u2019s depth chart. Tomlin told reporters on November 6 how the team incorporates Smith, who has experience playing other spots besides along the edge, waits to be seen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that\u2019s to be discovered,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him inside some in Green Bay in pass rushing circumstances, and so we don\u2019t have guard rails on it. It\u2019s about getting to know him and seeing where it leads us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tomlin appeared to imply that Smith will mostly play on passing downs, as he added that it doesn\u2019t really matter that the veteran has 3-4 scheme experience. Tomlin said there\u2019s little difference between the 3-4 and 4-3 schemes \u201cin passing circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith has recorded at least 8 sacks in six of his previous nine NFL seasons. He posted 2.5 sacks with 19 combined tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hits in nine games for the Packers this season.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Preston Smith Already Feels Comfortable With Steelers<\/h2>\n<p>While Tomlin minimized Smith\u2019s previous 3-4 experience, Smith stressed how much he loves Pittsburgh\u2019s defensive style. Smith\u00a0told reporters after his first practice with the team how excited he was to be back in a familiar defense.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust getting out here, getting back into the system I\u2019m comfortable being in and playing at a high level,\u201d\u00a0Smith said to the media. \u201cI\u2019m loving it right now, on Day 1.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith explained that with a defensive coordinator change, the Packers switched to a 4-3 defense this season. Due to that change in philosophy, Smith requested a trade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I was being useful in the system, and it wasn\u2019t catering to my playing style,\u201d\u00a0added Smith.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust being back in the system, it\u2019s like riding your favorite bike again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith will turn\u00a032 years old on November 17. His age could explain the decline in his sack totals this season.<\/p>\n<p>But just last season, Smith had 8 sacks with 21 quarterback hits and 4 pass defenses. It was the third consecutive season he had at least 8 sacks.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unlikely that Smith receives enough playing time to get 5.5 sacks in Pittsburgh\u2019s final nine games this season to reach that total again. But he told the media he\u2019s excited for the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m thankful to be here. I love this system. I love this play style. I\u2019m new to the team, and I love this team already.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GettyPittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addresses the team acquiring edge rusher Preston Smith at the NFL trade deadline. The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0unsurprising added wide receiver\u00a0Mike Williams\u00a0before the NFL&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Steelers\u2019 Mike Tomlin Speaks Out on Surprise Preston Smith Trade.. - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=7431\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steelers\u2019 Mike Tomlin Speaks Out on Surprise Preston Smith Trade.. - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GettyPittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addresses the team acquiring edge rusher Preston Smith at the NFL trade deadline. 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