Jimmy Smith

The Ravens discussed a contract extension with veteran corner Jimmy Smith during the 2019 season, but the two sides could not come to terms. Although there is mutual interest in a reunion, it sounds like Smith will see if there are greener pastures on the open market.

At the scouting combine, Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta told reporters, including Clifton Brown of BaltimoreRavens.com, that he does not expect to strike an accord with Smith prior to the opening of free agency. “We’ve had conversations with Jimmy,” DeCosta said. “I suspect Jimmy’s going to want to hit the market and assess what his value is, as he probably should. He’s a veteran, he’s worked hard to see what his value is on the market. Lots of respect for Jimmy as a player. His agent and I have a really good relationship. So we’ll just see.”

The Ravens selected Smith, a Colorado product, in the first round of the 2011 draft. He eventually established himself as a legitimate No. 1 corner, and while he has struggled with injuries throughout his career, Baltimore’s defense has generally been markedly better when he’s on the field. The team already has standouts Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters under contract, but the secondary depth was a key piece of the Ravens’ defensive success in 2019, and DeCosta was clear that he would like Smith to return.

“Love to see him back in Baltimore,” the second-year GM said. “But he’s a free agent, so we’ll see what happens.”

If Smith does not re-sign with the Ravens, then that would make a Brandon Carr return more likely. If Smith does re-up, then Carr could be a cap casualty.

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The Ravens did not come out of their third straight Week 1 blowout win unscathed. Jimmy Smith will miss some time because of a knee injury.

Smith suffered a grade 2 MCL sprain, John Harbaugh confirmed Monday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jeff Zreibec). Harbaugh indicated the veteran cornerback will miss multiple weeks and noted the possibility of an IR-return stay exists. However, the 12th-year Ravens coach did not view that as the probable course of action.

This will mark the fourth straight season in which Smith will have missed time. He missed five games in 2016 and four in both 2017 and ’18, with the latter absence caused by a suspension. He has started 79 games for the Ravens since they selected him in the 2011 first round. Smith, 31, loomed as a cut candidate this offseason, but the Ravens opted to keep him for another year.

Baltimore boasts some depth at cornerback, despite losing Tavon Young for the season. Brandon Carr, second-year player Anthony Averett, ex-Cardinal Justin Bethel and return man Cyrus Jones reside on the Ravens’ roster. The Ravens face the Cardinals, Chiefs and Browns over the next three weeks.

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It sounds like the Ravens will keep Jimmy Smith in the fold. While at the owners’ meetings, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta all but confirmed that the team will be moving forward with Smith, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets. 

“One of the greatest strengths of our team right now is our secondary. I think it would be foolish for us to make a strength a weakness for no reason,” DeCosta said.

Smith, 31 in July, is under contract for one more season with a whopping $15MM cap number. The Ravens and Smith agreed to a 2017 restructure, ballooning his cap figure to this level. Releasing Smith would save $9.5MM against Baltimore’s cap, but it would also leave the club with $6.4MM in dead money. That’s not exactly an ideal scenario for the Ravens, so an extension or restructuring could make more sense than an outright release.

Last year, Smith served a four-game suspension for an alleged domestic violence incident. In 2017, he also missed four games due to an Achilles tear that coincided with a four-game suspension for PEDs.

The Ravens lost Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley and Eric Weddle from their top-tier defense. They will still have one of the league’s oldest secondaries, with the soon-to-be 30-year-old Earl Thomas coming in to join 30-somethings Smith, Brandon Carr and Tony Jefferson. Both Carr and Smith were potential cap casualties, but each is instead set to be part of an experienced Ravens DB corps.

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Ravens defensive back Jimmy Smith has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season, the league announced. Smith was originally facing a six-game ban, but the suspension was reduced to four games after Smith met with the NFL, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

Prior to the ban, the NFL was monitoring a child custody case between the player and his child’s mother. Last year, the woman had accused Smith of domestic violence and drug use, allegations that the cornerback denied. Ultimately, an NFL investigation found that the allegations had merit.

“The NFL found evidence of threatening and emotional abusive behaviors by Jimmy [Smith] toward his former girlfriend that showed a pattern of improper conduct. Our player’s behavior was inappropriate and wrong,” the Ravens said in a statement.

The Ravens added that after consulting with relationship and domestic violence experts, as well as non-football members of the organization, they “will allow Jimmy to return…after his suspension. Jimmy has acknowledged his behaviors were wrong and accepts full responsibility for them.”

Smith missed the final quarter of last season with a torn Achilles tendon, meaning that he’ll go roughly eleven months between snaps thanks to this suspension. In his injury-shortened campaign, Smith had 28 tackles, nine passes defended, and three interceptions.

The Ravens are undoubtedly frustrated by the situation, but they have reason to stick with him through the ban. Last year, Smith was operating as one of the Ravens’ best players and was Pro Football Focus’ No. 12 corner coming into the ill-fated game.

The Ravens will be without Smith for the first four games of the season against the Bills, Bengals, Broncos, and Steelers. He’ll be eligible to return in Week 5 against the Browns.

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