Two Packers Players Named Potential Trade Candidates, But Circumstances Changes
The Green Bay Packers are 5-2 after beating the Houston Texans on Sunday, so selling at the trade deadline doesn’t seem like a probable scenario for general manager Brian Gutekunst. When he traded cornerback Rasul Douglas away last season, the team was 2-5 after losing four consecutive games.
Nevertheless, some teams around the NFL are predictably interested in some of the Packers players. According to NFL Network’s insider Ian Rapoport, two specific players have generated buzz around the league: Edge rusher Preston Smith and offensive tackle Andre Dillard.
They are in two completely different circumstances, though, and it’s important to address them as such.
Preston Smith
Last year, as aforementioned, the Packers moved Rasul Douglas for a swap of third- and fifth-round picks with the Buffalo Bills. Based on where this team is now, it doesn’t seem like this type of compensation would be close to enough for the Packers now.
Between base salary and game bonuses, Preston Smith is making $4.1 million, which means a trade at the deadline would clear up $2.17 million in cap space. It’s not a significant amount considering the value of the edge rusher position.
The Packers would have $11.93 million in dead money this year and $9.88 million in 2025. The cap savings next season would be $7.62 million, plus $18.2 million in 2026 and $1.7 million in 2027 (void year).
Over the past 15 games, including playoffs, Smith leads the Packers with seven sacks. He might not be an insanely productive player, but he is solid and versatile — decent to apply pressure, strong against the run, and he can also drop back into coverage, even though the wide receiver matchups are not ideal for any defensive end.
More than that, the Packers haven’t had the production from last year’s first-round pick Lukas Van Ness they expected. So there’s not a clear replacement plan in place.
Unless the Packers are able to get real draft compensation, which seems unlikely at this point, there’s no real reason to make this move.
Andre Dillard
With Dillard, the situation is completely different. He signed a veteran minimum contract with Green Bay in the offseason, right before the draft. A trade at the deadline would mean $595k in savings.
The big point here is that Dillard hasn’t had much space. Beyond starting tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom, Dillard is also behind youngster Kadeem Telfort on the depth chart — Telfort even played an offensive snap against the Houston Texans when Tom was out for a play early in the game.
Over the last few weeks, the veteran has been a regular healthy scratch on game day — even though he was active against the Texans. Getting any type of compensation for him would be beneficial for the Packers in these circumstances.
At this point, every indication is that the Packers will have a quiet trade deadline. There aren’t huge needs to address — maybe cornerback or edge depth, but nothing too crazy. Selling doesn’t look like a smart path either, so sitting unless a great opportunity arises seems to be the way to go over the next few days.
