Preston Smith

BIOGRAPHY

Preston Demarquis Smith was born on November 17th, 1992, in Lithonia, Georgia, and currently plays outside linebacker in the NFL.

He attended Stephenson high school, where he was a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. He played for Coach Ron Gartrell, as a junior, played on an 11-1 Jaguars squad that won the Region 2 crown with a 7-0 record; that team had 29 of 32 senior players sign a college scholarship. He led the Jaguars to a 9-2 record in 2010 and was credited with 68 total tackles, including 9.0 sacks.

He played college football at the Mississippi State University; in 2011, as a freshman, he saw playing time in the last eight games of the season after making collegiate debut in home state at Georgia and totaled seven tackles, one forced fumble, and a pass breakup.

As a sophomore in 2012, he played in all 13 games during the sophomore season and led the team with 4.5 sacks. He also recorded 35 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and a pair of quarterback hurries.

In 2013 as a junior, he was one of the leaders on the defensive line who started in 11 games and played in 12 contests. He racked up 44 tackles – 29 solo – including 6.5 tackles for a loss of 28 yards and 2.5 sacks for a loss of 15 yards and ranked third on the squad in tackles for loss; he also registered the second-most quarterback hurries on the team with nine.

As a senior in 2014, he was a first-team All-SEC defensive end as selected by the league’s coaches and also was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for three consecutive weeks. He started all 13 games at defensive end and led the squad in tackles for loss (15), sacks (nine) and quarterback hurries (15). He notched two interceptions, forced two fumbles and ranked second in the SEC and eighth nationally in blocked kicks with two and ranked sixth in the SEC in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss.

The Washington Redskins selected Smith in the second round (38th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft; he played in all 16 regular-season games and one postseason game for the Redskins. He finished the season with eight sacks, which led all rookies for the 2015 season, as well as posting a safety against Aaron Rodgers in the Wildcard playoff loss against the Green Bay Packers.

During the 2016 season, he was voted as one of the best under-25 players in the NFL, and he became the starting right outside linebacker at the start of the season; he started all 16 games, compiling 38 tackles (22 solo), 4½ sacks, three passes defensed and an interception.

In 2017 he started all 16 games, recording 42 tackles (career-high 31 solo), a career-best two interceptions, a career-high-tying eight sacks, three passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He was one of only three defensive players (Kerrigan, D.J. Swearinger), to start all 16 games for Washington.

In 2018 he started all 16 games for the third consecutive season and registered a career-best 53 tackles (30 solo); he also tallied four sacks, an interception, three passes defensed, and a fumble recovery.

On March 14th, 2019, Smith signed with the Green Bay Packers on a four-year contract. In Smith's debut as a Packer in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, he made 5 tackles and sacked Mitchell Trubisky 1.5 times in the 10–3 win. In Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, Smith sacked Joe Flacco 3 times and forced a fumble that was recovered by the Packers in the 27–16 win, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. In week 6 against the Detroit Lions, Smith sacked Matthew Stafford 1.5 times in the 23–22 win. In week 10 against the Carolina Panthers, Smith recorded 2 sacks on Kyle Allen in the 24–16 win. In Week 16 against the Vikings, Smith recorded 3 tackles and 1.5 sacks during the 23–10 win. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, he recorded 2 sacks on Russell Wilson during the 28–23 win, including one at the 2-minute warning in the 4th quarter. He finished the season with 56 tackles, 12 sacks and four pass deflections.

On March 14, 2022, Smith signed a four-year, $52.5 million extension with the Packers through the 2026 season.