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Jimmy Smith

Sunday Roundup: Clemens, Fairley, Bortles

August 17th, 2014 at 12:57pm CST by Rory Parks

The preseason has reached its unofficial halfway point, and teams must trim their rosters to 75 players in just over a week from now. As position competitions continue to smolder and as bubble players strive to prove themselves in preseason contests, let’s take a look at some notes from around the league:

  • Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean offers some lessons learned from the Titans‘ second preseason game against the Saints. He notes that Travis Coons‘ accuracy has made the kicking competition with Maikon Bonani much more interesting than anticipated, and while return specialist Marc Mariani still faces an uphill battle to make the club, his returns on Saturday night have kept him in the picture.
  • Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com believes the Ravens should keep starting corners Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith on the shelf until the regular season opener against the Bengals. Baltimore has been “snakebitten” at the cornerback position and Hensley believes the team’s best bet is to hope that a decent player gets released as the preseason rolls on. He writes that, if free agents like Asante Samuel and Dunta Robinson could help, they would have jobs by now.
  • Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego writes that the Chargers are thrilled to have Kellen Clemens as Philip Rivers‘ backup, as they are confident Clemens could win games for them if he were pressed into duty.
  • Mike Klis of the Denver Post ranks undrafted free agent Juwan Thompson as the Broncos‘ biggest training camp surprise. Though Thompson entered camp as the No. 6 tailback on the roster, he now appears to have a legitimate shot at making the club.
  • Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Lions need to salvage Nick Fairley, who represents their last hope from the now infamous 2011 draft, but if Fairley does not show improvement soon, he could be a midseason trade candidate.
  • Birkett (Twitter links) and Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com offer brief discussions of the Lions‘ wide receiver competition and predict which wideouts may make the club.
  • Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com provides a list of which Packers bubble players helped themselves and who hurt themselves in Saturday’s preseason game against the Rams.
  • Ben Volin of the Boston Globe believes the Browns and Jaguars should hand the reins to Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel right away, rather than have them sit behind the players they will eventually overtake. Since Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan led their clubs to the playoffs during their rookie seasons in 2008, rookie quarterbacks have fared very well when thrown into the fire from day one. For what it’s worth, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida-Times Union tweets that Bortles will finally get reps with the first team offense on Monday and could play with the ones in the second quarter in the team’s upcoming preseason game against the Lions.

North Notes: Bears, Jimmy Smith, Packers

July 25th, 2014 at 12:44pm CST by Luke Adams

After submitting his choices for the 50 best trade assets in the NFL earlier this week, Grantland’s Bill Barnwell shifts gears and takes a look today at the worst contracts in the league. Leading the way on offense is Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, whose contract will be stuck on the club’s books for several more years. On the other side of the ball, Everson Griffen of the Vikings, Paul Kruger of the Browns, and Troy Polamalu of the Steelers are a few of Barnwell’s picks for players with the least team-friendly deals.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:

  • The Bears have twice tried to re-sign Kyle Orton since trading him away five years ago, and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune wonders if the team could look his way once again if neither Jordan Palmer nor Jimmy Clausen steps up as the No. 2 QB behind Jay Cutler. It’s unclear at this point whether Orton intends to continue his playing career in 2014.
  • Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith doesn’t anticipate signing a contract extension anytime soon, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (via Twitter). That doesn’t mean Smith isn’t interested in a long-term stay in Baltimore, but he likely recognizes his leverage is limited with two years still left on his deal.
  • Speaking to reporters today, including Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link), Packers coach Mike McCarthy continued to leave the door open to the possibility of Jermichael Finley rejoining the team, adding that the tight end is “still a Packer” in his opinion.
  • With both the team and the league enjoying “unparalleled financial prosperity” and the salary cap continuing to rise, the Packers will have plenty of money to invest both on and off the field going forward, team president Mark Murphy said yesterday (link via Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

AFC Notes: Jaguars, Ravens, Browns

July 13th, 2014 at 9:46pm CST by Peter Sowards

Paul Posluszny is one of the few constants in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, losing is another. But, that’s not his fault, as he’s played in all but one game in three seasons with the team and is coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance.

But, as The Florida Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran writes, there is uncertainty aside from Posluszny in the Jaguars linebacker room. Projected starters Dekoda Watson and Geno Hayes have been battling injuries, and backups LaRoy Reynolds and Telvin Smith are mostly untested.

O’Halloran remarks that linebackers coach Robert Saleh, defensive coordinator Bob Babish and coach Gus Bradley will focus on the group intently, and he assumes that the aforementioned five linebackers are safe, which leaves a single roster spot for J.T. Thomas, John Lotulelei, Nate Stupar, Allen Bradford and Marcus Whitfield.

More notes from the AFC:

  • The future of Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith is not likely to be affected after his arrest for disorderly conduct, CSNBaltimore.com’s Clifton Brown reports. The team has already exercised Smith’s fifth-year option and plans to sign him to a long-term deal.
  • Joining the Seahawks, Broncos and Ravens, the Browns will use a live animal as its mascot, according to Cleveland.com’s Tom Reed. Swagger, a bullmastiff, will lead the team onto the field before games.

North Links: Smith, Lions, Steelers, Bengals

July 13th, 2014 at 8:49am CST by Dallas Robinson

Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct on Saturday night following an incident at a bar in Towson, Marlyand, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The episode doesn’t sound all that serious, and I doubt anything grave will come of it, but it’s yet another negative off-the-field occurrence for the Ravens, who have had five players arrested this offseason. Baltimore is interested in a long-term extension with Smith, but the 26-year-old had character concerns when he entered the league, so it’s fair to wonder if this event will affect contract talks. More from the the NFL’s two North divisons:

Extension Candidate: Jimmy Smith

May 25th, 2014 at 10:16am CST by Rory Parks

The Ravens had high hopes for Jimmy Smith when they selected him with the 27th overall pick of the 2011 draft. Labeled by some as the most “pro-ready” cornerback in that draft class, Smith’s stock took a hit because of perceived character issues stemming from several failed drug tests and an aggravated assault charge. The Ravens, noting that those incidents came early in his collegiate career, rolled the dice on Smith, hoping he and Lardarius Webb might combine to form a fearsome duo in the secondary.

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore RavensAlthough Smith has had no off-field troubles since entering the league, his career got off to an inauspicious start when he suffered an ankle injury covering the Ravens’ first kickoff of the first regular season game of 2011. Smith returned to the field a few weeks later and showed flashes of his elite skill throughout the rest of the season, including an interception of Tom Brady in the 2011 AFC Championship Game.

In 2012, however, Smith battled through health and performance problems, missing five games due to a sports hernia injury and struggling with his consistency when he did see the field. But in Super Bowl XLVII, Smith played an integral role in the Ravens’ goal-line stand that denied the 49ers’ attempts to take the lead in the closing minutes, and that effort appeared to catapult him into 2013.

Smith started all 16 games in 2013, recording two interceptions and finally displaying on a consistent basis the blend of athleticism and technical skill that made him so appealing to Baltimore in 2011. As such, it was a foregone conclusion that the Ravens would pick up his fifth-year option, which they did in April of this year, keeping him in Baltimore through the end of the 2015 campaign.

Nonetheless, the team has expressed interest in extending its budding star. As our Luke Adams pointed out in his piece on the extension possibilities for the Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson, extensions for top cornerbacks are becoming more and more lucrative. Richard Sherman‘s new deal with the Seahawks averages $14MM annually, while Joe Haden‘s extension with Cleveland includes a $22MM guarantee. Those contracts represent a sizable increase from the already hefty free agent deals handed out to 2014 free agents Darrelle Revis, Aqib Talib, and Vontae Davis.

Admittedly, Smith is not yet in the same conversation as Sherman, Haden, and Peterson. Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) ranked all three players among the top 20 cornerbacks in the league, whereas Smith checked in at No. 36. Of course, Peterson’s value is further enhanced by his return skills, and although Smith was a reliable special teams contributor earlier in his career, his value as a shutdown corner far outweighs his value as a gunner.

The Ravens, however, would stand to benefit from extending Smith sooner rather than later. A cornerback with his abilities is an increasingly critical component of a championship formula, and there is no reason to believe his 2013 successes were a fluke. If he repeats his 2013 performance in 2014, he will have officially established himself as one of the top corners in the league, and he will be justified in asking for a contract similar to Sherman’s and Haden’s. Although Smith’s second contract will probably not quite reach that level of lucrativeness, the longer the Ravens wait, the more expensive he will be.

 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Texans Exercise Fifth-Year Option On J.J. Watt

April 17th, 2014 at 7:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans have officially exercised the 5th-year option on defensive end J.J. Watt for 2015, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deadline to do so was on May 3rd, but Houston decided not to wait.

Yates adds that the Ravens have done the same with cornerback Jimmy Smith and ditto for the Chargers and defensive lineman Corey Liuget. The Jets are believed to have done the same for defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson.

The 6’6″ Watt is coming off of a season in which he registered 65 tackles, 10.5 sacks, seven pass deflections, and four forced fumbles. The season prior to that was the 25-year-old’s monster breakout season – he racked up 69 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 16 pass deflections, and four forced fumbles en route to his first Pro Bowl. Watt has also been tremendously durable over the course of his three year career, playing in all 16 games in each campaign.

We heard in late March that the Ravens would pick up Smith’s fifth-year option, but the Ravens were hoping to work out a long-term deal with him. Smith will earn $6.898MM in 2015, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). His salary is guaranteed only for injury at present. It will become fully guaranteed for skill if he’s on the roster for the first day of the 2015 league year.

Liuget, 24, is coming off of his second consecutive productive season for San Diego, racking up 12.5 sacks between 2012 and ’13. Wilkerson and the Jets have both been open about their desire to work out a new long-term pact but in the interim, the Temple product will have to settle for a $6.97MM salary in 2014.

Ravens Notes: Jimmy Smith, OL, Daniels, QBs

March 25th, 2014 at 8:37am CST by Luke Adams

The 16 AFC head coaches met with the media at breakfast this morning in Orlando, and while some didn’t offer up a whole lot of notable tidbits, Ravens coach John Harbaugh made a few interesting comments. Let’s dive right in and round up some highlights, with these items coming from Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, and Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County Times:

  • The Ravens will pick up the fifth-year option on cornerback Jimmy Smith‘s contract for 2015. However, the team would like to work out a longer-term deal with him.
  • Harbaugh confirmed that Jeremy Zuttah, acquired from the Buccaneers over the weekend, will head into the summer as the Ravens’ starting center. For now, the club also intends to keep Kelechi Osemele at guard.
  • The only current opening on the Ravens’ line is at right tackle, but the team isn’t talking to Eric Winston, who has a history with offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.
  • The Ravens aren’t necessarily done with free agency, and remain in talks with a few players, according to Harbaugh. Tight end is one position the team is considering, with Ed Dickson and Owen Daniels among Baltimore’s potential targets.
  • Baltimore had interest in quarterback Brandon Weeden earlier this month before he signed with the Cowboys, and Harbaugh believes the Ravens need to add another quarterback to the roster.
  • Harbaugh confirmed that the seventh-round pick the Ravens acquired from the Dolphins in exchange for Bryant McKinnie is for 2015 rather than 2014.
  • Rolando McClain, whose rights are still held by the Ravens, has discussed making a comeback, and Harbaugh suggested he’d be open to welcoming back the linebacker if he’s working hard. However, the head coach hasn’t talked to McClain at all.