A productive season finale in Detroit would be lucrative for Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Preston Smith.
The restructured contract Smith agreed to in March could pay off in a big way to end the 2021 regular season.
The veteran pass-rusher sits at 9.0 sacks entering Week 18. With one more sack, Smith would get to 10 sacks and earn another $750,000. With three more sacks, Smith would hit 12 sacks and earn both the $750,000 for getting to 10 sacks and another $1.2 million for hitting 12.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur is planning to play starters against the Lions despite his team having the No. 1 seed in the NFC clinched. It’s unclear how long veterans like Smith will play, but chasing the sack incentive could certainly play into the decision, especially if he’s productive early and getting to 12 sacks is a real possibility in the second half.
Smith has already earned back $1.25 million for reaching six sacks ($500,000) and eight sacks ($750,000).
Smith’s total available incentives through sacks is $4.4 million. He would need to go crazy on Sunday and produce five total sacks to hit all five incentives up to 14 sacks.
But even if Smith can get to 12, he would collect $3.2 million in total, helping him come close to getting to the $12 million he was scheduled to make in 2021 before the restructure.
There’s no doubt Smith has been a different player in 2021. After producing only 4.0 sacks and 26 total pressures last season, Smith has 9.0 sacks and 58 pressures in 2021. His current grade at Pro Football Focus of 79.3 would be a new career-high.
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The Lions brought back offensive tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell from the COVID-19 reserve list, potentially complicating Smith’s path to 10 or 12 sacks.
Smith has 3.0 sacks in six career games against the Lions but only 0.5 in his last four. Lions starting quarterback Jared Goff has been sacked 34 times this season and has a sack percentage of 6.8.
The Packers don’t have anything to play for in terms of playoff positioning, but Smith is one veteran starter worth watching in the season finale on Sunday.