Be honest: you figured we’d stop talking about Preston Smith once the NFL Trade Deadline passed, didn’t you? I don’t blame you; in principle, now that Preston is happy in Pittsburgh and playing in the scheme he is most comfortable with, everyone on all sides should move on.
Unfortunately, that is not how the NFL, or blogging, operates. It is my sworn responsibility to continue milking the Preston Smith trade for all it is worth, since that is how the content economy operates. It’s not much, but it is honest effort.
Without Smith, the Packers have a bit of a void at pass rusher. He wasn’t exactly putting up Pro Bowl statistics, but whenever you replace a proven vet – even if he was somewhat rotational at this point – it never hurts to fill the hole with another
And now that longstanding edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue is back on the free agent market (he was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday morning), it makes perfect sense* to bring him to Green Bay.
*Some sense, but not all. Perhaps not even some.
An intriguing Preston Smith replacement has just become available for the Packers.
Many people are fascinated by the idea, including Packers cap specialist Ken Ingalls, who explains why it is a low-risk move with big potential.
Following the trade deadline, each waived player is eligible for waivers.The argument for Ngakoue goes something like this: he has produced wherever he has gone, except for Chicago. He had a career-low four sacks for the Bears last season, but he didn’t play much due to an ankle injury that halted his season after 13 games.
Prior to it, he had at least eight sacks in every season of his career, including 19.5 sacks over a two-year period with the Colts and Raiders in 2021-2022. As a situational, depth pass-rusher, that is about as excellent as it gets. He’s also just on a one-year contract worth roughly the veteran’s minimum, so the Packers wouldn’t have to take on a large cost to get him in the building.
The argument against Ngakoue goes something like this: he could be quite washed. He has only 1.5 sacks this season and has not started any of his five games with the Ravens. It doesn’t help his argument that Baltimore’s defence has struggled this season, with 33-year-old outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy leading the club in sacks (7.5).
It appears that if he clears waivers, they want to sign him to the practice squad, and this action was motivated by the need to get someone else on the active roster.
Most of the time, such moves fail, but this is too low-risk for a team like the Packers to turn off. Plus, how comical would it be if he was dreadful with the Bears and then ruined their season less than a year later?
Leave a Reply