I can’t speak for you, the reader, but I was shocked when the Steelers made their second trade Tuesday ahead of the NFL trade deadline. I was assuming the Mike Williams trade would have sufficed, but they ended up making a deal with the Green Bay Packers for Preston Smith, only giving up a 2025 7th Round pick for the pass rusher.

It seemed odd the Packers were willing to just let him go, but it all made sense when Smith met with media after Wednesday’s practice and told them he requested a trade from Green Bay. Luckily for the Steelers, the Packers obliged.

“I didn’t feel like I was being useful in the system, and it wasn’t catering to my play style and moving forward,” Smith said in a post-practice interview with media.

As you can imagine, Smith wasn’t shocked when he finally heard he got his wish.

“I wasn’t surprised when I got the call. I got what I asked for, and I’m at a place that — a great place — with some great teammates, and I’m excited for the new start, and I’m excited for the rest of this journey for this season.”

Smith was comfortable in a 3-4 defense, the system he played for the majority of his career, but the Packers switched to a 4-3 and tried to move Smith to a 4-3 outside linebacker. Needless to say, Smith is excited to be back in a 3-4 setting.

“It’s what I was comfortable playing in, and what I got used to playing in the previous nine seasons,” Smith said. “So just being back in the system, it’s like riding your favorite bike again.”

Will Smith be thrust into the lineup this Sunday vs. the Washington Commanders in Week 10? When Mike Tomlin met with media Wednesday upon request he wasn’t ready to confirm Smith would be ready on such short notice.

“There’s some variables in that equation,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “First and foremost, the ability to learn. We got to have an above the line assignment component to our play, and then getting a sense of what they’re physically capable of. We got a few days to sort through some of those things.

“This weekend, Sunday is not the end game. We acquired these guys [Preston Smith and Mike Williams] to be with us for the remainder of this journey, and so that’s just my general mindset.”

When Smith was asked about how he would embrace his new role with the Steelers, as a primary back-up player behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, he said he is ready for whatever the Steelers have in store for him.

“Man, I’m just here to embrace my role to help those guys out as much as I can,” he said. “If they need a break, I’m going to be there for them to get a break, whatever the rotation may be. I’m here to accept my role and contribute in the best way possible.”

“It could have been any team,” Smith said. “While I was on the phone, I was looking up the record. I don’t keep up every team record, but I saw their record. I was like, ‘Woo!’

“But I was also kind of sad, because they were just coming off the bye, and I was on a bye, and so I had to go back to work and now I don’t get a bye anymore. But I’m excited to be here. I’m ready to play. I’m ready to ball out.”

Smith may have lost his bye week, but he gained a new team and a new opportunity to make his presence felt with the Steeles defense. No matter how it happened, the hope is the Steelers are better off with Smith than they were a week ago, and if it makes an already defense even better, it’s mission accomplished for the black-and-gold.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Commanders this Sunday in Week 10.