The Ravens retained a veteran depth option for their offensive line by re-signing offensive tackle Andre Smith to a one-year deal on Thursday.
The 33-year-old has appeared in 116 contests (98 starts) in an NFL career spent primarily with Cincinnati and signed with Baltimore last month before being inactive for the divisional playoff loss to Tennessee. The sixth overall pick of the 2009 draft from Alabama, Smith has primarily played right tackle in his career, but he started five games at left tackle for the Bengals in 2019 and would have graded 74th among offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus had he played enough snaps to qualify.
Veteran James Hurst served as the primary backup to Pro Bowl starting tackles Ronnie Stanley and Orlando Brown Jr. last season, but the 28-year-old is scheduled to make $4 million in base salary and the Ravens could save $2.75 million in salary cap space by releasing him this offseason. Smith would be a cheaper option if he proves to be reliable enough in the spring and summer as he enters his 12th NFL season.
The 6-foot-4, 325-pound lineman had brief stops with Arizona and Minnesota in addition to having three different stints with the Bengals over his career.