BALTIMORE — Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith is long past feeling any animosity after being traded by Bears general manager Ryan Poles three years ago. And why wouldn’t he be, especially after getting everything he wanted with a $100 million contract extension and the chance to play for a perennial contender?
Smith also picked up his first win over his old team as the Ravens rolled the Bears 30-16 at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. Revenge wasn’t a factor. His main motivation was keeping the Ravens’ playoff hopes alive after a 1-5 start.
“We knew the position we were in,” he told the Sun-Times. “If it was a couple of months after I got traded or the same year, maybe I would’ve felt [extra incentive], but nowadays I know who I am as a person, I know who I am as a player and I’m comfortable with that. . . . It’s not about anything else.”
Smith had a fantastic day: He had a game-high 12 tackles, caught up with friends he hadn’t seen in a while and got the win the Ravens desperately needed.
He did not run into Poles, and the two haven’t talked since the trade, but Smith spoke positively of him and wished him well.
They were in an ugly standoff months into Poles’ tenure. Smith was pushing for an extension going into the 2022 season; Poles refused to meet his number.
After a hold-in, trade request and open letter to chairman George McCaskey to intervene, Smith returned to practice a few weeks into training camp. But with an impasse in negotiations, Poles dealt him for second- and fifth-round picks and used what would’ve been Smith’s money to sign linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards in the offseason.
Smith, meanwhile, got that five-year, $100 million contract from the Ravens, has been an All-Pro for them three times and said in 2023 he was happy his career wasn’t “going down the drain,” so no complaints from him.
“You have to do what you feel is best for your organization, and that’s his role,” Smith said. “I’m here; they love me here; I love them here.”
Injury-report deception?
Ravens coach John Harbaugh pleaded ignorance as the NFL investigates his team for retroactively changing quarterback Lamar Jackson’s Friday practice participation from full to limited and abruptly ruling him out Saturday morning. He had been designated questionable the day before.
The team said Jackson did practice for the duration Friday but worked on the scout team. By the league’s policy, that counts as limited.
“We weren’t going to rule him out before we had to,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh called it “an honest mistake,” claimed not to know that rule and said there was “no advantage” to be gained by trying to mislead the Bears and the public.
Bears coach Ben Johnson said all week that his defense was preparing for Jackson, not backup Tyler Huntley.
“We were looking at tape of him and saw him practicing all week . . . so we had to flip our minds to the next quarterback,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “It was a big difference.”
Two rookies hurt
Second-round picks Shemar Turner and Luther Burden III left with significant injuries and didn’t return.
Turner, a defensive lineman, hurt his knee in the second quarter and was carted to the locker room with a towel over his head. He quickly was ruled out for the game. Burden, a wide receiver, had a concussion.
Notes
Johnson didn’t think nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who went on injured reserve Saturday with groin and calf injuries, would be out for the season.
υ Defensive end Dominique Robinson left with an ankle injury, and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus hurt his knee. Johnson said evaluations were ongoing.
υ Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who has been hampered by a knee injury, played only his fourth game of the season and said he got through it in great health.
