When you're not a household name, a request to be traded doesn't get blasted on podcasts or social media. And that's what didn't happen to former Green Bay Packers defender Preston Smith. He revealed shortly after joining the Pittsburgh Steelers at Tuesday's trade deadline that he wanted out of Green Bay.

"I requested a trade a few weeks ago," Smith said in his first Steelers press conference. "I didn't feel like I was being useful in the system, and it wasn't catering to my play style and moving forward."

The Packers changed coordinators in the offseason, moving the defense from a 3-4 scheme to a 4-3 and shifting Smith from outside linebacker to defensive end.

Most of Smith's 10-year career was spent at outside linebacker, where he recorded at least eight sacks a season from 2021 to 2023.

Smith, 31, immediately felt at home in his first practice with the Steelers on Wednesday. "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."

Smith, in the mix of an outstanding outside linebacker corps, gives the Steelers another explosive pass rusher. With Nick Herbig sidelined for his fifth game of the season, Smith will be tasked with backing up T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, along with Jeremiah Moon.

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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers OLB Preston Smith makes surprising reveal after Packers trade