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Boosting their options at pass-rusher remains an ongoing need for the Baltimore Ravens ahead of training camp. It’s an issue general manager Eric DeCosta can solve by turning to a “versatile” free agent with an impressive track record for getting after quarterbacks.
Dawuane Smoot is a good fit for the Ravens, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. He noted how the 28-year-old has recorded “five sacks or more in four straight seasons.”
Five of those sacks were notched with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, and Zrebiec believes the only reason Smooth “is still unsigned is due to him rupturing his Achilles late in the 2022 regular season. Otherwise, he’d likely have gotten a nice payday in a league that values versatile defensive linemen.”
A clean bill of health would make Smoot a bargain for the Ravens this late in the offseason process. He’d add an experienced presence and proven track record to a pass-rush department lacking both.
Smoot would also provide a younger alternative to Calais Campbell and last season’s team sack leader Justin Houston. The latter still remains on the market, and while the Ravens are amenable to signing Houston for a third time, he’s now 34.
6-Year Pro Makes Sense for Ravens
Smoot’s best asset is his versatility. He’s shown the ability to line up on the edge, as a defensive end or even to slide inside in certain looks.
Those things would suit the Ravens, who have long built multiple-front defenses around hybrid pass-rushers. Smooth can deploy his 6-foot-3, 264-pound frame anywhere along a front seven, like when he broke through the interior to sack Los Angeles Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert and force a fumble on a play highlighted by Pro Football Culture.
This is the kind of play Campbell made for fun for the Ravens before joining the Atlanta Falcons in free agency. Campbell logged 11 sacks during three seasons in Baltimore, and like Smoot, he could play anywhere along the front.
Two things Campbell did best were to cause havoc inside and create plays for others. It’s something Smoot can do, like when his pressure helped Travon Walker, the first-overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, sack Russell Wilson against the Denver Broncos in Week 8, highlighted by Seven Rounds in Heaven.
Having Smooth work inside in obvious passing situations while David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh rush the edges, would give the Ravens more ways to collapse the pocket.
It would also ease the pressure on Oweh and Ojabo if Houston isn’t brought back.
Ravens Still Consider Familiar Veteran an Option
Houston’s chances of returning to M&T Bank Stadium again are still promising, with Zrebiec reporting “the Ravens have long said they are open to his return and suggested it would be revisited late in the offseason.”
Re-upping Houston for a third season makes sense given how the ageing pass-rusher still knows how to wreck offenses. The problem is the Ravens need to find out exactly what they have in Oweh and Ojabo, two players who represent hefty investments of premium draft capital in recent years.
Oweh was the Ravens’s first-round pick in 2021, while Ojabo came off the board in Round 2 a year ago. Unfortunately, both have combined for just nine sacks and eight starts.
Head coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald are making a huge gamble both players will significantly boost their production. Their task will be easier if there’s a player like Smoot to occupy blockers inside and claim a few snaps on the edge.
Offering Smoot a two-year deal with incentives based on staying healthy shouldn’t be a problem when DeCosta still has $10,547,328 left under this year’s salary cap.
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