NFL Trade Deadline: 2 Packers named trade candidates
If the Green Bay Packers want to be sellers at the trade deadline, which coincides with the U.S. presidential elections, they’ll have options. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Packers own two of nine players who are actively “generating interest” ahead of Sunday’s action in Week 7.
Those two players are defensive end Preston Smith and tackle Andre Dillard. Smith agreed to a contract adjustment this offseason that saw him shave off $1.9 million coming off of his base salary in 2024 in exchange for $4 million in sack incentives that are reached if he hits 10 sacks on the season. So far, Smith has recorded 2.5 sacks in 2024 and the Packers’ defensive end room has struggled in their first-year transition from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense.
If someone trades for Smith, it’ll probably be a 3-4 squad, which will be able to use his edge-setting and spot-dropping coverage ability as an edge defender in a more useful way than Green Bay is. In the Packers’ 4-3 defense, Smith is often asked to pin his ears back and get after the quarterback, which hasn’t been the strength of his game for several years now.
Assuming that Smith is out of the picture, this would lead to a significant uptick in snaps for former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness. This season, Smith has played 228 defensive snaps (58 percent of the team total) to Van Ness’ 153 (39 percent). If the Packers want the 23-year-old to grow as a pass-rusher, clearing the runway of Smith’s snaps is one way for the team to get serious about that plan.
Dillard hasn’t played on offense for the Packers. Ever. He was signed by the team just before the draft as tackle insurance, but he’s only been activated for three games this year. He’s played 0 offensive snaps and 16 special teams snaps, which have mostly come on field goal protection. With the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans, Dillard recorded action in 62 NFL games and 19 starts. He’s played 1,276 regular-season offensive snaps in his career.
As the season develops, teams only get more desperate for offensive line talent. Just a week ago, the New England Patriots picked up Packers practice squad offensive lineman Lecitus Smith to their 53-man roster. Maybe it’s not so farfetched that Green Bay could turn a free roll on veteran depth into a draft pick.
Currently, the Packers are missing a seventh-round pick for their 2025 draft class, as they sent that to the Titans for backup quarterback Malik Willis around the cutdown deadline. Trading Dillard for a 2025 seventh-round pick is one way for the team to be back into every round next spring when the draft is hosted in Green Bay.
