On the whole, the Green Bay Packers have bought into the team’s new 4-3 scheme under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. One player who may not have been fully sold on the idea, though, is now former Packers defensive end Preston Smith.

Smith was sent to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the trade deadline for a seventh-round pick in the upcoming draft. Weeks prior, though, Smith began to be rumored to be on the trade market. Now, we know why.

On Wednesday, Smith revealed to the Pittsburgh press that he actually requested a trade out of Green Bay several weeks ago. For perspective, his playing time dropped from 71 percent in Week 1 of the season to just 54 percent in Week 8 and 37 percent — a career low for his healthy games as a member of the Packers — in Week 9. As you can imagine, that could have been Green Bay’s decision to keep their rental healthy, as they knew that Smith would be going somewhere else at the deadline.

Preston Smith is happy to be a Steeler. Says a few weeks ago he requested a trade from the Packers pic.twitter.com/P3cFHVw43w

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 6, 2024

Smith cited a return to a 3-4 scheme, which he played in Washington to start his career and then later in Green Bay, as a reason for his trade request. Smith has millions of dollars of incentives on the line in 2024, which stem from the restructure he accepted back in February, following the hiring of Hafley. For Smith to hit the peak incentives in his deal, he’ll need to bring in 10 sacks this season. As of now, he only has 2.5 sacks on 2024.

Former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness is expected to fill in as a starter in the role that Smith previously played. Van Ness has famously never started a game at either the college or professional level, meaning that Week 11’s matchup against the Chicago Bears will be his first start since high school. As of now, the Packers aren’t getting great returns from the 23-year-old.

Smith is expected to play rotationally with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith on the Steelers, a team that is contending for a postseason spot. In 5.5 years in Green Bay, Smith played in 91 games and made 88 starts.

In his press conference after the trade deadline, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told the press that Smith landing with a contender like the Steelers made it easier to trade the pass-rusher away. Now knowing that Smith requested a trade in private weeks prior, that comment makes more sense.