Baltimore Ravens should hold on to Jimmy Smith despite rumors
Even with trade rumors circling the Baltimore Ravens and Jimmy Smith, the team would be wise to retain his services and not trade him.
Jimmy Smith has been sidelined for the vast majority of the 2019 season to an injury that was entirely not his fault. What makes it more unfortunate is to see how poorly the secondary has played without him. Even after the trade for Marcus Peters, why would the Baltimore Ravens trade away Jimmy Smith when it’s clear how important he is to their defense?
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Sure, everyone has a price tag, but perhaps Smith’s is more about his impact rather than his cost value. Smith has no doubt been one of the better cornerbacks of the last decade when healthy, in spite of the zero Pro Bowl nods he has on his resume. There’s no disputing how good he is when he can be on the field. This is evident for the Baltimore Ravens defense, but it’s also a reason why he is often involved in trade talks.
The rumors behind trading Jimmy Smith have been around for a couple of years now, but Saturday, October 19, 2019, they spiked all over again. Smith is now rumored to be a trade asset for Baltimore to ship away to the New York Jets in return for offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele.
Let’s start by addressing the obvious: This is a ridiculous rumor, and not just for a singular reason… Starting with the Kelechi Osemele side of things, he hasn’t played since week three of the 2019 season and has no clear timetable for his return due to a lingering shoulder injury. The details of the injury are messy, too…
For the Ravens, why trade for a guy who you don’t know if you’ll see him any time soon when the guy you’d be trading, Jimmy Smith, will likely return after the team’s bye week? This is simply bad business and Baltimore Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta is not one to make a bad deal.
The only way, the ONLY WAY, that Baltimore would make this deal is if there were picks involved. I don’t mean the Ravens sending them away, either. The Jets would have to fork up a day two pick for DeCosta to even consider sending away a prized player like Jimmy Smith away for a guy who may not even play the rest of 2019. It’s simply ludicrous.
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To put a bow on this rumor, it’s utterly ridiculous to consider. The Baltimore Ravens offensive line could use an upgrade, but there’s no sense in trading for a 30-year old guard with shoulder problems. In the meantime, Baltimore should hold on to their high-end cornerback in Jimmy Smith. Upon Smith’s return, he will put a cherry on top of a talented cornerback depth chart and hopefully rejuvenate this secondary, and that is worth its weight in gold.