Marcus Smith is a "special" loss

The season-ending injury to Marcus Smith hurts the Ravens’ thin receiver group, but it’s a “huge loss” for special teams, coach John Harbaugh said. “Marcus was playing as well as any rookie on special teams last season,” he said. “You saw it in the game -- that’s a big strong gunner running down the field.” Smith confirmed that he will undergo surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that he tore in Thursday’s preseason opener. “[I’m] upset more than anything, frustrated,” said Smith, who cheered on his teammates at practice while on crutches. “You work so hard to get to this point, to play this season and show yourself and prove that you’ve worked hard and all of those good things. Now you can’t do it. You’ve got to wait another year before you can come out here and prove yourself. So it’s definitely a bummer, but I’ll come back bigger and stronger and faster.”