Packers’ Defensive Ends Respond to Preston Smith Trade

With Preston Smith traded to the Steelers, more will be demanded of Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and Arron Mosby in a position group led by Rashan Gary.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Preston Smith (91) following the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers returned to the practice field on Monday with a major change at defensive end following the trade of Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Every time a Steeler game is on, I guess I have to put it on and see how my boy P (is) doing,” Rashan Gary said.

In 2019, the Packers made a sweeping change at defensive end by signing Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith in free agency and drafting Gary in the first round.

Gary is the last man standing.

“Preston knows what he means to me,” Gary said. “I remember, I told him coming in, ‘I used to watch your highlights,” Gary said. “Me preparing for my high school game, I remember watching 91 rushing at Mississippi State. Coming in here, man, and him being a big brother, basically, open book. I’m telling you, there was times I was calling him, 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock at night – he’s got a wife and kids but he’s answering the phone call from me because I’m up on the iPad.”

Whether it was help in setting up an offensive tackle or life advice, Smith was a “big brother” to Gary.

“If things don’t go your way, you’ve got to keep even-keel,” Gary said of Smith’s advice. “He always said, ‘It’s not as bad as it looks and it’s not as good as you think.’ Just going back to the tape, watching that mindset, having a guy that was able to pour into me, give me things that I could give to JJ (Kingsley Enagbare), Lukas (Van Ness), whoever comes in, it’s great.

“But I could keep going on and on and on and on and on and on about P and what he means to me. He was a great part of my development.”

Gary will remain the top dog at defensive end but the trade of Smith – who was averaging 34 snaps per game – will mean added opportunities for Van Ness and Enagbare, who have had large roles this season, Arron Mosby, who has played a little, and perhaps Brenton Cox, who hasn’t played at all.

“Unfortunately, yeah,” Enagbare said. “Kind of sucks how it went down with a vet like P, a guy like P. He’s been here all my three years here and was a big part of my success and growth as a player, and partly as a man and as a teammate. Losing him definitely hit us close to the heart, but we got guys in here in our room who are ready to take advantage of the opportunity that’s about to come up in the next few weeks.”

The big winner could be Mosby.

An undrafted free agent in 2022, he played in a few games with the Carolina Panthers as a rookie. Last year, he joined the Packers early in training camp and spent the season on the practice squad.

This year, he made the 53-man roster following a strong preseason. A stalwart on special teams all season, he played his first two defensive snaps against Jacksonville and five snaps against Detroit, with a half-sack vs. the Lions’ star right tackle, Penei Sewell.

“It was a blessing,” Mosby said. “So now, just the confidence-wise that I can do it in this league, I did it on one of the greater tackles in the league. It’s a confidence booster, but you got to do it again in this league. It could be an accident, you just never know. So, going forward, I got to prove it over and over again.”

Van Ness and Enagbare already were key players in the rotation, so the trade should pave the way for Mosby to get added opportunities, beginning on Sunday at the Chicago Bears.

“Since training camp, I think we had probably the most depth out of any position group, and then we probably kept the most guys out of any position group going forward,” Mosby said. “Really, I feel like going forward and into the season, they knew that we had the most depth in the building. Losing that guy (Smith) is going to hurt us a little, but it gives me and Brenton Cox some confidence and things like that to go forward and be great, as well.”

Smith, who had one sack and two tackles for losses in his Steelers debut, was the leader of the group – the “old head,” as Mosby put it. Now, the 26-year-old Gary, already a team leader, will take on a greater role.

His message?

“Step up. Step up. Plain and simple,” he said. “There’s a big opportunity. Everybody prays and asks for opportunities like this. So, the opportunity’s out there, let’s make the most of it and finish the season how we want to finish it.”

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