BALTIMORE — The Ravens and inside linebacker Roquan Smith have agreed to a contract extension, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Baltimore Sun.
According to NFL Network, the record-breaking contract is a five-year, $100 million extension, which makes Smith the highest-paid linebacker in league history, and includes $60 million in total guarantees. Smith represented himself in negotiations.
With the deal, the Ravens took care of what was expected to be their second biggest piece of offseason business.
With Smith, 25, locked up as a defensive centerpiece, general manager Eric DeCosta will be in better position to use the franchise tag to keep quarterback Lamar Jackson in Baltimore if Jackson does not agree to an extension.
The Ravens traded for Smith, who was the eighth overall pick by the Chicago Bears in 2018, in late October, hoping he would be the final piece to make their defense elite. If anything, he has exceeded expectations, both as a playmaker and as a mood lifter in the locker room. He recently made his first Pro Bowl.
