GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When Za'Darius Smith met with reporters via Zoom last week during the Green Bay Packers' mandatory minicamp, he did so without his partner in pass rushing beside him.

Preston Smith, the other half of the Packers' unrelated-but-inseparable outside linebacker duo known as The Smith Bros., couldn’t join him because he landed in the COVID-19 protocol.

But make no mistake, they’re back for a third incarnation after what can be described as dominant in Year 1 and divergent in Year 2.

While Za’Darius posted his second straight double-digit sack season (12.5) and set the mark for the most sacks by a player in his first two seasons with the Packers (26.0, bettering Clay Matthews’ 23.5 in 2009-10), Preston’s play slipped (eight fewer sacks than his 12 in 2019 and more drops into coverage), in part, the team believed, because of poor conditioning that had him playing above his listed weight of 265 pounds.

For a while, it looked like there might only be one Smith -- Za’Darius -- back for a third season. But after Preston agreed to a restructured contract that included a pay cut (with the chance to earn it back through incentives), it ensured they would be a duo for at least another year.

“Man, I’m happy to have P back,” Za’Darius said. “Whatever was going on with the situation, I don’t know. But I felt like it was a restructure. We all had to restructure on our deal. But P is a guy who is all-in.

“I hate that he’s not here right now, because of protocol, but it is what it is. We can’t wait to get him back, and P is a guy to keep everybody going in the meeting rooms. When people are down, he’s the guy that’s keeping us laughing, man, and keeping us encouraged on and off the field. So it’ll be good to get P back I guess, back when we come for training camp. Can’t wait to get him back, man, the Smith Bros.”

The Packers hope Preston gets back to his 2019 form and that Za'Darius maintains his.

“Z is a guy that just sets a great example out there and brings a lot of energy to practice,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said this offseason. “He’s definitely a disruptive force on the field. That’s what we expect out of him, and he’s done a great job and he needs to continue to help bring others along with him ... if we can get everybody playing at his level, then I think we’re going to have a pretty good defense.”

In case Za’Darius needs any motivation, he got some more this offseason. He was left off a list of top-10 pass-rushers by Pro Football Focus, and he posted a screenshot of it on his Instagram story. It was reminiscent of his sack celebrations late in the 2019 season after he was left off the Pro Bowl team and then celebrated by revealing his undershirt with the word “Snubbed” on it.

It’s almost as if he expected the PFF snub.

“[Snubbed in] 2020? 2021? 2022? They just going to continue to snub me,” he said. “Nah, they’re still snubbing me. It is what it is. I feel like it adds fuel to the fire, and I’m going to continue to prove myself.”

Packers outside linebackers coach Mike Smith, also no relation, loves that about Za’Darius.

“Good, whoever wrote that, just keep doing that,” Mike Smith said. “What was it, Instagram? Have them just keep doing that stuff. Maybe I’ll get a fake account and start doing it myself and make stuff up there. Actually, don’t record that. Don’t tell him because I am going to do it; that’s a great idea. ‘Can you believe what they said about you today, Z? I cannot believe it.’”

Preston looked motivated for this season, too, reporting for the offseason program in better shape, even if his position coach insisted that wasn’t a mandate.

“I think he does look a lot leaner than he did coming in last training camp,” Mike Smith said. “But no, there wasn't as much [of an emphasis on that]. Those guys know how I feel about training. To me, that's the edge and that's the secret. I was fortunate enough to play with Ray Lewis for a while, and if you'd ask him, he'd tell you that's his No. 1 thing. It's just human nature.

"Guys get tired and you get into the fourth quarter, they're eventually gonna give up. The better shape we're in, we can go all game, it's better for us. Those guys know. So I know how important it is for training and I'm sure Preston is training his butt off, which you can tell when he came in.”

Throw in the third year of Rashan Gary, the 2019 first-round pick whose production spiked late last season, and it gives new defensive coordinator Joe Barry the option of having all three edge rushers on the field together (with Za’Darius Smith moving inside like he’s done in the past on third downs).

“All three of those guys I’m excited about, it’s great whether we have two of them on the field, all three of them on the field,” Barry said. “We’ll get creative and have some fun with it. But you can’t have enough great pass-rushers, and I’m excited to be working with all three of those guys. All three of those guys are in a great place.”