One former Green Bay Packer has found his new team, while another is out of a job this week.

Preston Smith, who spent six seasons with the Packers, is back where it all began for him in the NFL, signing with the Washington Commanders on Wednesday, Sept. 17, according to reports.

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Meanwhile, Darnell Savage, a former first-round pick by the Packers, was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Here’s what to know about each player.

Preston Smith signs with Washington Commanders

Smith is signing with the Commanders three weeks into the 2025 season, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

The linebacker returns to the team that selected him in the second round of the 2015 draft and where he spent the first four years of his career.

But Smith made his biggest impact with the Packers. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made Smith part of a big free agent class in 2019, signing him with veteran defensive players Za’Darius Smith and Adrian Amos.

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Smith had a career-high 12 sacks in his first season with the Packers and was the model of consistency and reliability in Green Bay. He only missed four games across 5½ seasons and didn’t miss a game in his final three years. But Smith’s playing time started to decrease and the Packers opted to go younger at the position at the trade deadline last season.

The Packers sent Smith, who had 44 sacks in Green Bay, to the Steelers for a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Smith didn’t start in Pittsburgh but played in the final eight games of the season and added two sacks to his career total of 70.5. He was a free agent this offseason.

The Commanders were in need of pass rusher after defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. sustained a season-ending injury during Washington’s Week 2 loss at the Packers.

Packers injury report: Aaron Banks and Zach Tom return to practice; Jayden Reed update

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Darnell Savage cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars

Savage’s time with the Jaguars ends well short of finishing his three-year contract he signed in the 2024 offseason.

Before that, the safety spent the first five years of his career with the Packers. Savage was the 21st overall pick by the Packers in the 2019 draft and was a mainstay on the defense.

He had nine regular-season interceptions with the Packers and a memorable pick-six of Dak Prescott in the Packers’ 2023 wild-card playoff win against the Dallas Cowboys.

But injuries in the 2023 season — he missed seven games — derailed his last year in Green Bay. And the Packers decided to go in a new direction with the arrival of defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley in 2024 as they remade their safety position.

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Savage played in 13 games last season with the Jaguars and had 51 total tackles, six defended passes and one interception.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: preston-smith-signs-washington-commanders-darnell-savage-cut-jaguars