Washington Redskins second-year outside linebacker Preston Smith arrived at organized team activities this spring and looked more comfortable following a strong finish to his rookie season in 2015.
Smith finished the year with eight sacks. Teammates such as inside linebacker Will Compton and defensive end Ricky Jean Francois praised the progress they saw from Smith at OTAs, particularly the speed at which he was playing.
The expectation was that Smith would complete the Redskins‘ trio of edge pass rushers, along with outside linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Junior Galette. Now Smith is expected to be thrust into a more prominent role after Galette, who missed the 2015 season because of a torn left Achilles tendon, tore his right Achilles tendon days before the start of training camp and is expected to miss the coming season.