The Baltimore Ravens is traded against Chicago Bears All Pro team player Roquan Smith, Jonathan Jones and Josina Anderson, CBS Sports NFL Insiders confirmed. The Bears will get second- and fifth-round picks, along with linebacker AJ Klein, in return. Smith is the second top-ranked defender to be dealt with by the Bears in the past week – ahead of the NFL’s trading deadline (4 p.m. ET Tuesday) – after Chicago replaced rusher Robert Quinn to the Eagles.
Smith, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, has scored 83 tackles, 2.5 sacks and interceptions this season. In more than four seasons, the Georgian producer missed only four games. The former best defensive player in the SEC has been a playmaker since his arrival in the league, racking up over 600 tackles, 16.5 sacks, a forced fumble, seven interceptions and one touchdown.
The 25-year-old is in the final year of his rookie contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Spotrac.com forecasts an average annual salary of $17.6 million, which would be the second-highest among active off-ball full-backs; Expensive price to pay for the center.
When a question arose about the status of contract negotiations during the pre-season period, first-year general manager Ryan Poles said the following, Via ChicagoBears.com:
“I think he’s a very good football player. I love the kid. I love what he did on the field, which makes me really disappointed with where we are right now. I thought we’d be better off, be completely honest with you… With this, we can’t We overlook that it’s not about one player. My job is to build a roster that sustains success for an extended period of time. At the end of the day, we have to do better for the Chicago Bears.”
Baltimore leads the North Asian standings with a score of 5-3. Smith joins a group that includes first-round pick Patrick Quinn, as well as Josh Bynes, AJ Klein and Malik Harrison.
With Smith out of the picture, the Bears were left with young midfielders Sterling Weatherford and Jack Sanborn, as well as free agent Nicholas Morrow.
He sent Bears Quinn to Philadelphia last week in exchange for compensation. News of Quinn’s trade to Smith was broken while he was available to his media, Which brought raw emotion. The Poles stock the venture capital in its first year on the job. Chicago slipped to 3-5 on the year with Dallas losing over the weekend.
Trade grades: crows B+, bears B-
The Ravens sure get a playmaker in defense who has turned things around over the past few weeks. Smith leads the NFL with 83 tackles and has always had a knack for finding football, having two interceptions and 2.5 sacks a year. Smith has not only scored double-digit tackles in all but two games this season, but has over 100 tackles in all four NFL seasons and 246 tackles is his fourth in the NFL.
Josh Bynes has been a trustworthy Ravens since his comeback last year, but Baltimore needs a playmaker quarterback at MIKE to pair with Patrick Quinn. Whether the Ravens can sign a long-term deal with Smith will validate the trade, but Baltimore is pursuing it.
As for the Bears, getting the second and fifth turns, along with Klein, is part of their rebuilding. Chicago received three draft picks versus Smith and Robert Quinn. They will have a first, two seconds, third, two seconds, fifth, and seventh in the 2023 draft. Rebuilding is underway.
– Jeff Kerr
