To be honest, you probably assumed that we would stop discussing Preston Smith when the NFL Trade Deadline passed. I don’t blame you; theoretically, everyone should expect to move on now that Preston is contentedly playing in the scheme that suits him in Pittsburgh.
Regretfully, neither blogging nor the NFL operate that way. Since that’s how the content ecosystem operates, it is my sworn responsibility to keep getting the most out of the Preston Smith transaction. It’s honest labor, but it’s not much.
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The Packers are quite shorthanded at pass-rusher without Smith. Even if he was largely rotational at this point, it never hurts to backfill that place with another veteran when you move on from a proven veteran, even if he wasn’t exactly producing Pro Bowl statistics.
Additionally, it makes perfect sense to bring veteran edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue to Green Bay now that he is back on the free agency market after being cut by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday morning.
*Some, but certainly not all, sense. Not even some, perhaps.
The Packers have an intriguing Preston Smith substitute now available.
Ken Ingalls, a Packers cap analyst, is among many who find the notion intriguing and explains why it would be a low-risk move with significant potential rewards.
Waivers apply to all released players after the trade deadline.
With the exception of Chicago, Ngakoue has produced wherever he has gone, according to the case in favor of him. He finished the season with the Bears with a career-worst four sacks, but he didn’t play much because of an ankle injury that terminated his season after 13 games.
He recorded at least eight sacks in each of his previous seasons, including a two-year run of 19.5 sacks with the Colts and Raiders in 2021–2022. That’s as excellent as it gets as a situational, depth pass-rusher. It’s not like the Packers would have to pay him a huge amount to get him in the building because he’s just on a one-year contract and is only making the veteran’s minimum.
Ngakoue may be highly washed, according to the case against him. In the five games he played for the Ravens this season, he did not start and only had 1.5 sacks. The fact that Baltimore’s defense hasn’t performed well this season and that outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, 33, leads the club in sacks (7.5) doesn’t help his argument.
This move was more about getting someone else on the active roster, but it seems like they’re interested in adding him to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
This is too low-stakes of a move for a team like the Packers to pass on, but moves like this usually fade out. Furthermore, it would be hilarious if he had a terrific season with the Bears and then ruined it less than a year later.
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