Ravens earn $4.875M from Roquan Smith trade before season opener

In order to clear the salary cap just before the 2024 NFL regular season, the Baltimore Ravens have restructured linebacker Roquan Smith’s contract. In doing so, the Ravens shed nearly $5 million in salary cap space. The Ravens’ last-minute move provides some padding ahead of the season and the NFL trade deadline.

The Ravens signed Smith to a five-year, $100 million contract in 2023. His $20 million annual average makes him the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL.

Last week, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said the team plans to take steps to provide the team with much-needed flexibility around the salary cap.

“We’re going to have to make some moves in the coming days and weeks, and we’ve been planning all this,” DeCosta said Friday. “There’s a lot of things we’re going to be able to do. We’re going to be within the cap and we’re going to have at least some money to spend if there’s a player available that we think will help us be the best team we can be.”

Smith, as a top-class professional, was the token player to have his contract changed.

Ravens’ Roquan Smith is a team player and the team’s most influential leader

While Lamar Jackson plays and makes headlines, he lets his play speak for itself. Smith often speaks for himself, as Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith demonstrates in his discussion of the Ravens’ season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“What better way to put on a show than with the whole world watching? No matter what happened last year, it was last year. It’s a whole new season,” Smith said. “The whole world is going to be watching, people from all over the world. I’m really excited about our defense and offense and special teams to put on a show for the whole world and look good doing it.”

Baltimore was eliminated from the playoffs in the AFC Conference Finals by Kansas City 10-17.

General manager DeCosta spoke about what Smith means to the team after signing him to a massive $100 million contract.

“Since he has been here, Roquan has been a leader on and off the court, impressing us with his attitude and willingness to be a great player and teammate every day. There is certainly a standard of defense in Baltimore, and Roquan has proven he can exceed that high level.”

Smith and the Ravens will have a chance to set the tone for the 2024 season when they play on the road against the Chiefs on Thursday night.