Packers Sign Former First-Round Pick to Practice Squad
Oct 19, 2026 11:00 PM

The Green Bay Packers signed a former Dallas Cowboys draft pick one day after embarrassing them in primetime.

The Green Bay Packers aren't content with their defense, even after a pair of nearly flawless performances against the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys.

Green Bay improved to 4-2 on Sunday Night Football and secured their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Their defense was a huge reason why, and if not for a brutal roughing the passer call, they would've picked off Dak Prescott three times.

Two interceptions is still a great night, and they held Prescott to just 4.8 yards per completion. Remember, this was a Cowboys offense that only had 48 yards on the ground, and that was somehow worse than the Packers' 57.

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On Monday, Oct. 19, Green Bay brought in defensive tackle Mazi Smith for a tryout, and according to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, they're officially signing him to the practice squad.

Packers add Mazi Smith

Smith, 25, was selected No. 26 overall back in the 2023 draft. He was drafted by the Cowboys, a team that seems to be swapping defensive players left and right with the Packers.

The elephant in the room was last year's Micah Parsons trade, and while Parsons didn't play in Week 6, it was still surreal seeing Kenny Clark sack Jordan Love.

Rashan Gary didn't have an impact on the game whatsoever, but that's a story for another time.

When it comes to Smith, he's certainly worth taking a chance on with how plagued this defense has been with injuries.

If losing Edgerrin Cooper for the year wasn't bad enough, the team later lost Javon Hargrave. Both players were placed on the IR with season-ending torn Achilles injuries.

Smith was named First-team All-Big Ten at Michigan back in 2022. That came during his senior season, a year when he posted a career-high 49 total tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.

In the NFL, Smith's most successful season was in 2024. During his second year with the Cowboys, he recorded 41 total tackles, 22 of which were solo, and that's the year when he had one of his two sacks.

Smith recorded a sack as a rookie in '23, and while he played all 17 games that year as well, he only finished with 13 total tackles.

After getting demoted to a backup, Smith was part of the package Dallas sent to the New York Jets for Quinnen Williams.

The Jets declined his fifth-year option, and he's yet to see any playing time in 2026 despite being on the Miami Dolphins' practice squad for over a month.

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