Green Bay Packers Cut em or Keep em & Prediction: Preston Smith – Dairyland Express

I started the Cut em or Keep em & Prediction series earlier this week, having already taken a look at whether or not the Green Bay Packers should cut or keep Devin Funchess, Dean Lowry, and Christian Kirksey.

Well, on Friday, Green Bay made some actual cuts by moving on from Kirksey and Rick Wagner. This created over $10 million in cap space and leaves the Packers still about $11.4 million over the projected salary capwhich at this point is still an estimate.

But in addition to getting under the cap, the Packers also need room for any free-agent additions, in-season spending, the practice squad, as well as the draft class. Meaning there are likely more cuts to follow.

So before GM Brian Gutekunst makes any other moves, Ill try to finish this series. Up next is Preston Smith.

2021 Cap Hit: $16,000,000

Admittedly, this is difficult to justify given Preston Smiths performance in 2020, and the monster cap hit the comes with him being on the roster this season. However, if the Green Bay Packers were to hang on to him, it would be with the hope that he would regain some of his 2019 form.

That season, Smith tallied 12 sacks, good for the eighth-most in the NFL, along with 62 pressures, which were tied for the 15th most among edge rushers. That type of production paired with ZaDarius Smith, who was named a second-team All-Pro and is coming off a 12.5 sack season, along with Rashan Gary, who was the 15th most efficient edge rusher in the NFL in terms of pressuring the quarterback, would create a dominant force upfront.

And, of course, we cant forget Pro Bowler Kenny Clark, who has developed into one of the better interior defensive linemen in the game. In 2019 we saw The Smiths wreak havoc on opposing quarterbacks, and last season it was ZaDarius and Gary, but we havent seen all three firing on all cylinders at the same time yet.

After the season Smith had, this is certainly a risky move given his cap situation, but if it paid off, Green Bays pass rush would benefit greatly.

2021 Cap Savings: $8,000,000

As I mentioned above, Smiths production fell off a cliff last season. He recorded just four sacks and 29 pressuresa far cry from his 2019 season. On top of that, in the pass-rushing efficiency metric referenced above from Pro Football Focus ($), Smith ranked 99th out of 121 eligible edge rushers.

There were flashes here and there, but his overall impact was greatly decreased. And it wasnt just as a pass rusher either; in the run game, he struggled to set the edge, and opposing offenses often ran directly at him because of this.

Even in an offseason where the salary cap wasnt shrinking, a $16 million cap hit for Smiths 2020 production would be a tough pill to swallow. So this year, it hurts even more. With the emergence of Rashan Gary, the Packers could move on from Smith and still have a potent one-two punch at the edge position.

With Smith, the Green Bay Packers could look to restructure his deal, creating more cap space in 2021. But the issue with doing that is with only one additional year left on Smiths deal after this season, his cap hit in 2022 would increase, as would his dead cap hit. Meaning, if Smith struggles again, moving on from him a year from now becomes even more difficult as hes owed even more money than what he currently is.

This is certainly an option, but its a risky one, given his recent performance. A $16 million cap hit is just way too much to take on, especially with ZaDarius Smith and Rashan Gary already as options on the roster. Green Bay will cut Preston Smith in lieu of the $8 million in cap savings.

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Green Bay Packers Cut em or Keep em & Prediction: Preston Smith - Dairyland Express