Ravens Restructure Star LB's Contract

Smith, 28, is in the third year of a five-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Ravens in January of 2023, making him the highest-paid inside linebacker in the league at the time. He is now the second-highest paid player at his position, only behind San Francisco 49ers star Fred Warner at $21 million per year.

The Ravens acquired Smith from the Chicago Bears at the 2022 trade deadline, and since then, he's been an anchor in the middle of the defense. In 42 regular season games with Baltimore, Smith has 408 total tackles (16 for loss), five sacks, 15 pass breakups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He has garnered first-team All-Pro honors in each of the past three seasons.

However, Smith took a slight step back last season, particularly in pass coverage. He still played very well overall, especially in the second half once the rest of the defense got its act together, but it was still below the standard he sets for himself.

"I think last year, as a defense, yes, we obviously didn't play the first couple of weeks the way we wanted to," Smith told reporters on Sept. 3. "Each and every person has to look themselves in the mirror, regardless, and there are some tweaks [and] little things [to change]. People make mistakes, obviously; that's human nature, but we know that's not our standard. Again, that's last year. We're now focused on this year. It's a completely new team. It's a completely new defense, like I said, so I'm excited about it, and I'm excited just to go out and show the world."

Smith had a team-high 10 total tackles in the Ravens' 41-40 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Sunday night's season opener.