Veteran CB Makes Honest Admission About Signing with Ravens
BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 27: Cornerback Jimmy Smith #22 of the Baltimore Ravens stands on the field during warms up prior to the game against the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium on November 27, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
Cornerback Jimmy Smith has been with the Baltimore Ravens since 2011, when the team made him a late first round pick out of Colorado. He re-upped with the team on a one-year deal, and has made it very clear: he will retire as a Raven.
Very few players in any major sport are able to play their entire careers for just one team. It appears that Smith will pull that off. He signed a one-year deal with the Ravens, worth $3.5 million total this offseason.
Had he and the Ravens not come to that agreement, Smith says he would've retired. He doesn't seem at all interested in playing for another franchise.
"I absolutely will not play for another team," Smith told The Athletic. "If the Ravens didn’t re-sign me last year and I felt like I could still play, I probably would have still retired."
Smith says that he's comfortable financially after a decade in the league. He loves playing for the Baltimore Ravens, which he calls a family, but once they no longer want him on the roster, he's "done playing ball."
After his four-year, $7.46 million rookie deal, Smith cashed in on a four-year, $41.1 million deal with the team that ran from 2015-19. He made just over $4 million last year, bringing his career earnings to just under $56.58 million for his career so far.
Smith has started 83 of his 107 career games for the Ravens. He won a Super Bowl with the team in 2012. We'll see if his defense and the Lamar Jackson-led offense can make another run at a title before his career is up.
