The Baltimore Ravens have made an enormous midseason addition by trading two draft picks along with veteran linebacker A.J. Klein to the Chicago Bears in exchange for one of the best linebackers in the NFL, Roquan Smith.
Full terms: A 2 and a 5 and AJ Klein for Roquan Smith and his salary. https://t.co/cGecczkLD7
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 31, 2022
The Ravens have been missing some extra juice from their always-good defense, especially at the linebacker position; now, with this move, they have greatly solidified their linebacking core and their defense as a whole. As for Chicago, the rebuild continues with the team trading away arguably their two best defensive players in Robert Quinn, who was traded to the Eagles, and now Smith.
Roquan Smith seems to point out the play before the snap. Shoots the gap for a tackle for loss. pic.twitter.com/IhVOfenc3R
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) November 1, 2022
Smith came out of Georgia and was drafted by the Bears with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The 25-year-old star has had a stellar career early on as he has been named an all-pro in two of his first four seasons in the league and is playing at an all-pro level this year in his fifth season. Smith can be compared to a Ravens legend and arguably the greatest middle linebacker to ever do it, Ray Lewis. Lewis and Smith have similar characteristics in the sense of high IQ, leadership, a knack for being around the football, and ultimately their domination and competitiveness at the middle linebacker position.
Last two players with 300+ tackles and 30+ tackles for loss in a 2-year span in NFL history:
Roquan Smith (2020-2021)
Ray Lewis (1999-2000)That's called dominance 😤 pic.twitter.com/ZluavM3M7J
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) July 19, 2022
Smith will be paired up with an up-and-coming young linebacker who hasn’t fully panned out yet in former LSU Tigers national champ Patrick Queen—having a player of Smith’s caliber alongside him will only allow Queen to shine even more and take away much pressure from him having to be the number one guy in the linebacking core. With Queen at 23 years of age and Smith at 25, it will be fascinating to see if Baltimore can have a dynamic duo at the linebacker position for years to come. Queen took to Twitter to express his excitement about the trade.
https://twitter.com/Patrickqueen_/status/1587169067001159687?s=20&t=ybISsXVS1nINUkbLVcDZAw
The Bears trading Smith is a bit of a shock; yes, the team is rebuilding, but Smith is only 25, so perhaps he could’ve been the ideal player to build your defense around. However, it seems as if Chicago wants to start from scratch. Something of note is that Smith is scheduled to be a free agent after the season, plus there was much talk before this season began that Smith had wanted out due to the team not offering him a contract extension of his preference, so now it seems as if both sides may feel content in parting ways with another.
Smith will likely make his Ravens debut in a primetime game as the Ravens travel to New Orleans to take on Chris Olave and the Saints in week nine on Monday Night Football.
The Bears will look to quiet the noise in week nine as they host Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins.
Let us know what you think about the Ravens acquiring superstar linebacker Roquan Smith by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
