The Ravens and cornerback Jimmy Smith have agreed to a restructuring of his deal that will open up some cap room for the team. Smith will now have $7.725MM of his $8.5MM base salary converted into a signing bonus, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The adjustment will create $5.15MM in cap space for Baltimore. 
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After suffering a rash of injuries this offseason, the Ravens likely wanted the extra breathing room so that they could explore reinforcements. For example, if Joe Flacco‘s back does not improve and Ryan Mallett continues to struggle in practice, the Ravens may want to look into adding a free agent quarterback. The Ravens may also want to look into tight end depth in the wake of Crockett Gillmore‘s injury (which followed Dennis Pitta‘s injury/release) and they could still use some offensive line help even after adding Austin Howard to the mix.
Smith also restructured his contract last offseason, so this marks the second time that he has adjusted his four-year, $48MM extension since signing it in 2015. Last year, the cornerback’s season ended in mid-December after he suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Patriots. In 11 games, the 29-year-old racked up 32 tackles and four passes defended.
The defensive back joined the Ravens as a first-round pick in 2011, and he’s started each of his 51 games over the past four seasons. This year, he returns as a starter alongside free agent addition Brandon Carr.