GREEN BAY, WI After Preston Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Green Bay Packers made a significant defensive end move when they returned to practice on Monday.
Rashan Gary remarked, “I guess I have to put it on every time a Steelers game is on to see how my boy P (is) doing.”
By selecting Gary in the first round and acquiring Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith in free agency, the Packers made a significant defensive end overhaul in 2019.
The final man remaining is Gary.
“Preston is aware of his significance to me,” Gary remarked. Gary recalled, “I used to watch your highlights,” he added as he entered. “I recall seeing 91 Rushing at Mississippi State while I was getting ready for my high school game. He entered here, dude, and acted like an open book like a big brother. I’m telling you, there were occasions when I called him at ten or eleven p.m. He had a wife and children, yet he answered my call because I was using the iPad.
Smith served as Gary’s “big brother,” offering guidance on life and assistance in putting up an offensive tackle.
Regarding Smith’s counsel, Gary stated, “You have to remain calm if things don’t work out for you.” “It’s not as bad as it looks and it’s not as good as you think,” he would often say. Returning to the tape, witnessing that attitude, and having a man who was able to pour into me and give me things that I could offer to Lukas (Van Ness), JJ (Kingsley Enagbare), or anybody else enters, is fantastic.
The list of things I could say about P and his significance to me would go on and on. He had a significant role in my growth.
Gary will still be the best defensive end, but Smith’s trade will give Van Ness and Enagbare, who have played a lot this season, Arron Mosby, who has played a little, and maybe Brenton Cox, who hasn’t played at all, more opportunity. Smith was averaging 34 snaps per game.
“Yeah, unfortunately,” Enagbare said. The way things went down with a person like P and a vet like P is kind of awful. Throughout my three years here, he has played a significant role in my development as a player, as well as in my development as a man and teammate. Although we were deeply saddened by his passing, we have men in our room who are prepared to seize the chance that will present itself in the coming weeks.
Mosby could emerge as the major winner.
He was a 2022 undrafted free agent who made a few appearances for the Carolina Panthers during his rookie season. He spent the season on the practice squad after joining the Packers early in training camp last year.
After a successful preseason, he was selected to the 53-man squad this year. Throughout the season, he was a mainstay on special teams. He played his first two defensive plays against Jacksonville and five against Detroit, recording a half-sack against Penei Sewell, the outstanding right tackle for the Lions.
“It was fortunate,” Mosby said. I accomplished it on one of the league’s best tackles, so now I simply have the belief that I can do it in this league. It boosts your confidence, but in this league, you have to do it again. You never know, it may be an accident. I must thus repeatedly demonstrate it moving ahead.
The deal should give Mosby more opportunities, starting on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, as Van Ness and Enagbare were already important members of the rotation.
“I believe we had the most depth of any position group since training camp, and we probably retained the most guys out of any position group moving forward,” Mosby said. “I think they understood we had the best depth in the building going ahead and into the season. Although losing that individual (Smith) may cause some pain, it also provides Brenton Cox and I the confidence we need to move forward and succeed.
Smith, the group’s leader and the “old head,” as Mosby described him, recorded one sack and two tackles for losses in his Steelers debut. Gary, 26, who is now a team leader, will now assume a more significant position.
What was his message?
“Come on. Get up. “Simply put,” he said. “A significant potential exists. Everyone seeks for opportunities like these in their prayers. Therefore, let’s take advantage of the chance and end the season the way we want to.
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