When Jimmy Smith was going by way of the predraft course of in 2011, he knew NFL groups had some considerations — “orange flags,” he jokingly referred to as them Monday. Smith had confirmed himself a first-round cornerback over his 5 years at Colorado, however there have been questions on his maturity.
When Smith visited Baltimore, although, the place Ravens officers noticed a prototypical lengthy, athletic nook, he recalled that it was “probably just like being at home.” The Ravens took Smith No. 27 total. Over the subsequent 11 years, it was the one group he’d play for.
“They knew I was immature but had to grow still, but they were willing to take a chance on me,” Smith mentioned. “And that chance changed my life, so I’m forever grateful because I had a lot of ups and downs, obviously, as a person and a player. And they stuck right by me. They kind of epitomized loyalty.”
Smith introduced his retirement Monday, ending his NFL profession after greater than a decade in Baltimore. He performed 128 video games for the Ravens, beginning 90, and was instrumental of their Super Bowl XLVII triumph. He completed with 14 interceptions, seventh most in franchise historical past.
Smith, 34, had acknowledged close to the tip of final season that his future in soccer was unsure. He was set to develop into a free agent, and accidents had restricted him to only 30 video games from 2019 to 2021. Smith didn’t signal wherever in the course of the offseason, and he acknowledged Monday that the toll of his profession’s accidents had develop into an excessive amount of of a burden to play by way of.
“I want to be remembered as the type of player that I was, obviously,” he mentioned. “I know I went through a lot of injuries and I wasn’t always there to suit up, but I want them to remember the type of player I was when I was out there, what I brought to the team. I mean, I’m a jokester, I like to have fun, I like to kid and be too candid at times. But ultimately, I just want them to remember, like: championship!” He flashed his Super Bowl ring.
When wholesome, Smith might be a shutdown exterior cornerback, with the approach and dimension (6 toes 2) the Ravens have lengthy coveted for his or her aggressive protection schemes. Over Smith’s Ravens tenure, their protection allowed the NFL’s second-fewest yards (326) and third-lowest factors (20.1) per recreation.
Even within the twilight of Smith’s profession, he was among the many group’s most succesful defenders. Almost three months into the 2020 season, Pro Football Focus graded Smith because the eighth-best all-around nook within the league and the ninth greatest in protection — forward of starters Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters.
But accidents quickly sidelined Smith, as they typically did all through his profession. He performed in each recreation in a season simply twice, and after 2015, he by no means made greater than 12 appearances in a yr. Smith handled a sprained ankle, a sports activities hernia, a Lisfranc (foot) fracture, a again harm, a torn Achilles tendon, a sprained knee, a strained groin, a shoulder harm, a strained hip and a strained neck, amongst different illnesses, over his profession.
“Jimmy wanted to be on the field,” coach John Harbaugh mentioned Monday. “He was going to find a way to get himself out there, one way or another, and right to the very end. That’s the thing that you always appreciated. He was a football player, and football players want to play football. And I was happy when he was out there, I can tell you that. Even if he wasn’t 100% all the time, his 80% or 90% was better than most every other guy’s 100%. That says a lot.”
Harbaugh, one in every of Smith’s fiercest advocates in Baltimore, recalled consoling him throughout his second yr and telling him that he would recuperate from a sports activities hernia in time to play. Harbaugh remembered Smith, pissed off by his ache, telling him, “Just put me on [injured reserve]! This is ridiculous.” Harbaugh mentioned he advised Smith, “You stick with this, you just keep pushing through this, and by the end of the season, you’re going to make the play that wins us the Super Bowl.”
In the Super Bowl, Smith saved San Francisco 49ers extensive receiver Michael Crabtree from catching the go-ahead landing move on a fourth-and-goal play late within the fourth quarter.
“This is not a lie,” Smith mentioned, joined at his information convention Monday by present Ravens gamers, coaches and officers and former Ravens teammates like operating again Ray Rice and Anthony Levine Sr. “I did not believe him, but this is not a lie.”
Smith, whose first-ever play as a Raven ended with him struggling a high-ankle sprain, mentioned he was happy with not solely how lengthy he performed but in addition that he by no means left Baltimore. He felt a loyalty to the franchise, and mentioned Monday, half-jokingly, that he wasn’t certain he wished to retire “until this moment exactly right now.” Smith mentioned he acquired emotional watching the Ravens’ tribute video Monday morning; he already missed the flights again to Baltimore after highway wins, and the locker room together with his teammates, and the coaches who’d helped him develop up and develop into a household man.
“The friendship that we had, a chance to kind of grow through all the different things that happened, the good things, the challenging things, the crazy things … [are] what forges these kind of relationships and friendships that make football so amazing,” Harbaugh mentioned.
“To finish where you start is a beautiful thing in professional sports,” common supervisor Eric DeCosta mentioned. “A lot of guys don’t get the chance to do it. And I’m very happy that Jimmy had the chance to do that here as a Baltimore Raven.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com