Three years after leaving for a lucrative contract in Green Bay, Za’Darius Smith is returning to the Ravens as a two-time Pro Bowl edge defender and much-needed addition to their pass rush.
According to multiple reports, the 29-year-old has agreed to a four-year, $35 million deal with Baltimore, the place where he spent his first four NFL seasons. After a back injury and subsequent surgery sidelined Smith for nearly all of last season, the Packers released him on Monday to save just over $15 million for their salary cap. Many began speculating about a potential reunion between Smith and the Ravens a few weeks ago when it appeared likely that Green Bay would be moving on from the standout rusher.
Having experienced ups and downs early in his career — Smith was a healthy scratch three times late in his second season — with the Ravens, the 2015 fourth-round pick out of Kentucky blossomed in 2018 with 8 1/2 sacks and 25 quarterback hits, which earned him a four-year, $66 million contract with Green Bay. The 6-foot-4, 272-pound outside linebacker would only build on that success with the Packers, collecting a combined 26 sacks and 60 quarterback hits in 32 games to earn back-to-back trips to the Pro Bowl in 2018 and 2019. Pro Football Focus graded Smith 14th out of 108 qualified edge defenders in 2020 and third out of 104 in 2019, and his pass-rush grade ranks seventh among edge players since 2019, according to the publication.
While a back injury that limited him to two games and 37 snaps last season — though he returned to register a sack in the Packers’ playoff loss to San Francisco — makes one take some pause until Smith proves he’s completely over the ailment, it’s difficult not to like the addition as the Baltimore defense tries to rebound from a poor 2021 season that included only 34 sacks, their lowest total since 2016. With starting outside linebacker Tyus Bowser recovering from a torn Achilles tendon sustained in the season finale on Jan. 9 and veterans Justin Houston and Pernell McPhee now free agents, general manager Eric DeCosta figured to make the position a priority in free agency even with the 2022 draft class perceived as being flush with pass rushers. It will be interesting to see how new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald deploys Smith and 2021 first-round pick Odafe Oweh with each profiling as a rush linebacker, but the former can move inside in obvious passing situations while the youthful Oweh’s run-stopping prowess could lead to more snaps as the strong-side outside linebacker when Bowser isn’t on the field.
Though the Ravens have now taken significant steps to address their pass rush (Smith), safety (Marcus Williams), and offensive tackle (Morgan Moses) at the start of free agency, work remains along the offensive and defensive lines as well as at cornerback, a position sorely lacking depth behind starters Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. As of the first couple hours following the 4 p.m. start of the new league year, blocking tight end Eric Tomlinson was the only Baltimore free agent to reportedly sign elsewhere, meaning the likes of starting center Bradley Bozeman, six-time Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell, three-time Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, and cornerback Anthony Averett remained available to re-sign.
Of course, with DeCosta having reached three agreements totaling $120 million — a much smaller portion of that money is guaranteed and counts against this year’s salary cap — over the last two days, the Ravens aren’t working with nearly as much financial flexibility after having nearly $16 million in space at the beginning of the week.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Ravens announced their previously reported agreements with Williams and Moses — pending the passing of physicals — and scheduled an 11:30 a.m. Thursday press conference to introduce their newest players. That announcement came before reports of Smith reaching an agreement, making it unclear whether he’d be joining them in Owings Mills on Thursday morning.
Below is the list of Ravens free agents who officially hit the open market on Wednesday afternoon:
ILB Otaro Alaka
CB Anthony Averett
ILB Chris Board
C Bradley Bozeman
ILB Josh Bynes
DE Calais Campbell
CB Khalil Dorsey
S DeShon Elliott
DT Justin Ellis
ILB L.J. Fort
RB Devonta Freeman
OLB Justin Houston
QB Josh Johnson
OT Brandon Knight
DB Anthony Levine
OLB Pernell McPhee
RB Latavius Murray
FB Patrick Ricard
OT David Sharpe
CB Jimmy Smith
TE Eric Tomlinson
WR Sammy Watkins
CB Chris Westry
DT Brandon Williams
