New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara took the handoff and appeared to have daylight off left guard. He needed just 3 yards for a first down. Roquan Smith, though, exploded into the gap and hammered Kamara, dropping him after a 2-yard gain. On the next play, Kamara tried again, and Smith hammered him again, stopping Kamara in his tracks and forcing a Saints punt.
In those back-to-back plays, which came in his second series of downs as a Raven, Smith showed exactly why general manager Eric DeCosta made an aggressive deadline deal to acquire the Pro Bowl linebacker from the Chicago Bears.
The Ravens gave up second- and fifth-round picks in next year’s draft, and linebacker A.J. Klein, in exchange for Smith, who is set to become a free agent after the season.
Whether the Ravens can find the money to sign Smith remains to be seen, but as Kamara found out, Smith’s contributions to the Ravens’ defense were immediate and sorely needed as they try to make a run to the playoffs.
After a disastrous start to the season that included an epic fourth-quarter collapse against the Miami Dolphins, the Ravens’ defense has improved markedly since October — save for yet another late collapse at Jacksonville — and Smith, a punishing sideline-to-sideline hitter, has been at the center of that resurgence.
“If you watch the film, he runs to the ball every time,” said linebacker Patrick Queen, who plays alongside Smith and has a locker next to him. “Everything he does is at 110 percent.”
He also seamlessly “fit into the culture,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said.
“I knew he was a pretty good player,” Humphrey added, “but playing with him, man, that was a really good choice of the front office to be able to grab him.”
Another Deadline Deal For DeCosta
Selected by the Bears at No. 8 overall in the 2018 draft — 24 spots before the Ravens drafted quarterback Lamar Jackson — the 2017 Butkus Award winner at Georgia as the nation’s top college linebacker made an immediate impact as a rookie with 121 tackles and five sacks.
He topped 100 tackles in all four of his full seasons with the Bears and was named a second-team All-Pro in 2020 and 2021. But this past summer, discussions about a contract extension between Smith and the Bears fizzled and ended in acrimony, with Smith calling the process “very distasteful to say the least.”
Smith asked to be traded and “held in,” sitting out the first few weeks of training camp practices. Once he returned, though, his play didn’t appear to be affected. At the time of the trade, the 6-foot-1, 232-pound Smith had not missed a defensive snap for the Bears all season, and his 83 tackles led the league.
With the Ravens’ defense struggling and inside linebacker a major concern — there was little depth behind Queen and an aging Josh Bynes — DeCosta swung his third major trade-deadline deal in four years. (DeCosta had traded for cornerback Marcus Peters in October 2019 and edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue in October 2020.)
It was a bold move to acquire a player who could amount to a half-year rental, but the Bears reportedly agreed to pay the majority of Smith’s 2022 salary, making the deal tenable for the cap-challenged Ravens.
Smith acknowledged that the trade caught him by surprise; he expected to play out the 2022 season in Chicago and move on after the season. But he was pleased to be headed to a team whose defensive legacy is framed by Ray Lewis and one with legitimate hopes of a deep postseason run.
In four seasons with the Bears, Smith played in just one playoff game, a last-minute 16-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles as a rookie in 2018. (Smith’s Bears squeaked into the 2020 postseason with an 8-8 record, but Smith missed the team’s opening-round loss to New Orleans with an elbow injury.)
Humphrey and other players said Smith’s play on the field captures only part of his appeal.
“We pride ourselves on good people, good personalities, people who are respectful and carry themselves in the right direction,” linebacker Tyus Bowser said, “and also go out there and play like a Raven: Play hard, play fast, play physical. He has all those traits.”
Head coach John Harbaugh agreed, calling Smith “a good fit.”
Will Smith Be A Raven In 2023?
But will he fit in 2023? Or, more accurately, can the Ravens afford him to fit? Then again, given Smith’s career resume, the Ravens’ defensive mindset and their roster, can they afford not to?
Lamar Jackson’s contract status remains the top storyline entering the offseason, but Smith’s status is probably Storyline 1A.
At age 25, Smith — who like Jackson represents himself — is believed to be looking for a deal that would make him the highest paid inside linebacker in the league.
In describing his failed negotiations with the Bears, Smith told Chicago media in August, “I see myself at a number, and [the Bears] see me at a number, and we couldn’t agree. … I would never accept a deal that I don’t feel like is worth what I’m worth.”
Shaquille Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts signed a five-year, $98.5 million extension that tops the inside linebacker market in total dollars and average annual value according to spotrac.com, which tracks player contracts, so that would appear to be the neighborhood Smith plans to shop in.
One thing’s certain: The Ravens can’t use the franchise tag on both Smith and Jackson. If a deal with Jackson gets done, the tag could be in play for Smith. Overthecap.com projects the franchise tag for a linebacker in 2023 to be about $17.4 million.
If they lose Smith to free agency, they should recoup a 2024 third-round compensatory draft pick in return, assuming he indeed signs a top-of-market deal, but they would be left with a gaping hole in the middle of their defense, minus two draft picks that were sent to Chicago.
Smith has said he isn’t thinking that far ahead.
“I’m living in the moment,” he said after practice one day in late November. “When that time gets there, it’ll get there, and I told myself that way back in the summertime after everything in Chicago. I was more so focused on the moment, enjoying my time, playing the game that I love and just going out and doing everything that I can, because what’s going to happen is going to happen. I’m a firm believer in that.”
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Issue 278: December 2022 / January 2023
Originally published Dec. 21, 2022