Grading the Roquan Smith trade for Ravens and Bears

Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports

The Roquan Smith trade looks like one of those deals that benefits both the Ravens and the Bears

NFL teams are not done tweaking their roster in advance of the 2022 trading deadline. In the past few weeks, we have seen the Carolina Panthers trade Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers, and the Chicago Bears send Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bears are not done making moves, however, and their latest deal sees another core component of their defense finding a new home. Chicago traded former first-round linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens, in exchange for a pair of draft picks, a second-round selection in the 2023 NFL draft, a fifth-round selection in the 2023 NFL draft, and veteran linebacker A.J. Klein.

The Ravens will also be taking on just a fraction Smith’s salary this season, as he is in the final year of his rookie contract. Smith’s desire for a long-term deal was a huge part of the offseason discussion in Chicago, and the linebacker was one of the NFL players who was a “hold-in” during training camp, as he looked for a new contract from the organization.

Chicago Bears: B+

For whatever reason, it seems like Smith was not in the long-term plans of new general manager Ryan Poles. Poles was asked about Smith’s future with the team throughout training camp, and while praising Smith’s ability, he consistently reiterated that Poles was going to do what was best for the organization:

My feelings for Roquan haven’t changed at all. I think he’s a very good football player. I love the kid. I love what he’s done on the field, which makes me really disappointed with where we’re at right now. I thought we’d be in a better situation, to be completely honest with you.

In terms of our philosophy in the front office, I’ve always believed and always will that we take care of our homegrown talent. We pay them, we take care of them and we take everyone for what they’ve done and what they can become in the future. And with this situation, we’ve showed respect from a very early timeframe, and with that said, there’s record-setting pieces of this contract that I thought were going to show him the respect that he deserves, and obviously that hasn’t been the case.

With that said, we can’t lose sight that this isn’t about one player. My job is to build a roster that’s going to sustain success for a long period of time. At the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for the Chicago Bears.

However, it seemed that no deal would be done with Smith for the long-term. Back in August, Smith released a statement indicating that the organization had “refused to negotiate in good faith,” and that the team was “trying to take advantage of me.” Smith also stated that if he signed the contract put in front of him, it would “be bad for myself and for the entire LB market if I signed it.”

With no potential deal on the horizon, adding draft capital in return for trading Smith seems like a smart move for Chicago. They could have held on to Smith for the rest of the season and continued to work out a contract, and settled for what would likely have been a compensatory pick in the third round had Smith left in the offseason. By trading him now, they get two picks instead, plus the veteran linebacker in return.

With the trade of Quinn late last week, it became clear that Poles was going to add draft capital in preparation for the 2023 offseason. Chicago added a fourth-round selection in that deal, as well as freeing up yet more cap space for the year ahead. Currently, the Bears have the most cap space available out of any team for next season, putting them in prime position to contend for free agents in the spring.

Now, adding the picks from the Quinn and Smith deals, the Bears are starting to stock that draft capital. As it stands right now, the Bears have four picks in the top 75 selections, with Baltimore’s second-round selection in the mix. Given that the rebuild is on in Chicago, and with all indications pointing to the fact that the Bears were not going to be able to re-sign Smith at a deal he was willing to accept, getting what they did in exchange seems like a wise investment as Poles looks to the future.

Baltimore Ravens: Conditional B, with room to improve

Prior to the Smith trade, there were three positions most commonly associated with a move for the Ravens: Wide receiver, defensive back, and linebacker. With injuries to the wide receiver room, adding a target for Lamar Jackson seems like a smart move, and that could still happen.

Then there is cornerback, given the season-ending injury to Kyle Fuller, and inconsistent play from other options on the roster.

Then there is linebacker, the position addressed in this trade. One of the weaknesses with the Ravens defense at the moment comes at the second level, as the Ravens have struggled to find consistency at that level of the defense both on the inside and on the outside.

What this move does is it gives the Ravens to take Patrick Queen and use him more as a downhill player, both against the run and as a passer, perhaps in an outside linebacker role. They can use Smith on the inside, where he is solid against the run and likely a coverage upgrade over Queen. This move perhaps shores up both the inside linebacker position, as well as the outside linebacker position, for the rest of the season.

For example, take note of this play from Week 1, which finds Queen attacking off the edge and pressuring Joe Flacco of the New York Jets:

Or this play from Week 3, that again sees Queen attacking off the edge as part of an overload blitz package:

Here, Queen gets to Mac Jones for the sack.

Using Queen in this kind of role takes advantage of what he can do as a pass rusher, as well as Smith’s athleticism in coverage. Because Smith is one of the better off-ball coverage linebackers in the league, and that skill-set shows up on plays like this interception against the Houston Texans, where you can see how comfortable he is in zone coverage:

Or take these two plays against the Houston Texans, where you can see Smith matching the tight end in man coverage, first on a vertical route:

And later on a crossing route:

Smith’s comfort and athleticism in coverage will be a huge boost to the Baltimore defense.

The biggest question — and the reason for the conditional grade — comes down to both how the Ravens employ Queen and Smith, as well as whether this is just a half-season rental for Smith, or the Ravens try and sign him to a long-term deal. If Baltimore finds a way to ink him to a new deal, this would be an even better move for the Ravens, as Smith is one of the game’s better off-ball linebackers.

Either way, this looks like one of those rare trades that might just work out for both teams, both in the short-term, and the long.