Trade Rumors for Two Packers Veterans

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, defensive end Preston Smith and offensive tackle Andre Dillard are “generating interest” with the NFL trade deadline approaching.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Preston Smith celebrates with the fans after last week's win over the Cardinals. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers look like Super Bowl contenders ahead of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. However, with the NFL trade deadline approaching on Nov. 5, could the Packers be sellers rather than buyers again?

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, defensive end Preston Smith and offensive tackle Andre Dillard are among the veteran players “whose names are generating interest” in trade talks.

Trading players would come with some peril for the Packers, who are 4-2 heading into Sunday’s game, unless other veteran assets are coming in return.

Smith is on “several teams’ radars,” Rapoport said. Whether that means several teams have inquired about Smith’s availability or the Packers have let it be known that Smith is available and several teams have shown interest is unknown.

One of Green Bay’s strengths is the depth on the defensive line. Smith is second on the team with 2.5 sacks – he had two against Tennessee – among 14 tackles.

Of 70 edge defenders with at least 95 pass-rushing snaps, Smith is 57th in Pro Football Focus’ pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, and 52nd in pass-rush win rate.

Moving Smith would create more playing time for the Packers’ young defensive ends, third-year player Kingsley Enagbare and last year’s first-round pick, Lukas Van Ness. After playing 71.1 percent of the snaps in Week 1 against Philadelphia, Smith played 50.0 percent against the Rams and 51.7 percent against Arizona the last two games.

However, none of Green Bay’s defensive ends has set the world on fire. For instance, Smith ranks first on the team in pass-rush productivity and second in win rate (behind Rashan Gary). Overall in pass-rush productivity, Enagbare is 59th, Gary is 63rd and Van Ness is 68th.

Playing games against three athletic quarterbacks has eaten into their opportunities. There should be more chances against Houston’s C.J. Stroud on Sunday, though Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil is a perennial Pro Bowler.

If the Packers were to trade Smith, the next man up would be Arron Mosby or Brenton Cox. Mosby hasn’t played a snap on defense this season and Cox hasn’t played a snap, period. So, the team’s depth would go from quality to questionable in a hurry.

“With the rotation that Rebs is doing, allows guys to get fresh and have opportunities to go out there and play at a high level when we’re out there on the field and not be tired,” Smith said recently of defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich.

“The rotation keeps us fresh and also keeps the offensive line guessing, doesn’t allow them to get a beat on what we’re doing. They get a lot of different looks throughout the game.”

Smith’s cap number for this season is about $14.1 million. Most of that is in signing bonus and roster bonus, so any immediate cap savings would be rather minimal – about $2.4 million if traded after this game. He’s due base salaries of $12.0 million in 2025 and $12.6 million in 2026.

The Packers were by far the youngest team in the NFL based on Week 1 rosters. The 31-year-old Smith is one of three players who are 30-plus years old; kicker Brandon McManus (33) and linebacker Eric Wilson (30) are the others.

Dillard could be a “stop-gap” replacement at a premium position, Rapoport noted.

The Packers signed him in free agency after he allowed a league-high 12 sacks in just 12 games last year in Tennessee. After a poor start to training camp, Dillard performed much better down the stretch and in the preseason to earn a spot on the roster.

“He’s certainly got experience, and his athletic traits are top-notch, being a former first-round pick,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said during training camp. “So, I think just getting him reps out there, he’s looked a lot better as camp has gone on. Again, it’s just like anything, getting him out there, getting him comfortable, putting him in these preseason games and going against some different guys, that’s going to be very important for him.”

Dillard has played in three games, with 16 snaps on special teams and none on offense, and was inactive last week. If something happened to either of the starters, Rasheed Walker or Zach Tom, Dillard would be a logical “stop-gap” replacement because of his experience, but fellow backup tackle Kadeem Telfort has not been inactive this season.

At last year’s deadline, the Packers traded Rasul Douglas and a fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a third-round pick.

More Green Bay Packers News

There are plenty of reasons why the #Packers should beat the Texans, which I hit on earlier (https://t.co/vLSDalhbYS), but here are three reasons why the Texans will turn the Packers into a puddle during the Winter Warning Game.https://t.co/0E5yQ57ZP6

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 20, 2024

Three reasons why Packers will beat Texans | Three reasons why Packers will lose to Texans | Saturday’s transactions | Giving back is important to Rasheed Walker | NFC North power rankings and previews | Packers-Texans: Keys to the game | Packers-Texans: Game preview | Brandon McManus “a breath of fresh air” | Squeezing more “juice” out of Edgerrin Cooper | Packers-Texans Thursday injury report | Injuries should help Packers vs. Texans | What channel for Packers-Texans? | Packers-Texans Wednesday injury report | Two of PFF’s top rookies | Packers-Texans matchups