The Baltimore Ravens are expecting to see many key contributors return after their Week 7 bye. They desperately need the help, and the potential returns of Lamar Jackson, Roquan Smith, Patrick Ricard, and Chidobe Awuzie should be extremely beneficial as they hope to get back into the playoff picture.
In Smith’s case, his return to action could change the landscape of the defensive unit. Not only will Baltimore see their leader back in the middle of their defense, but the starting linebacker duo could switch up.
Prior to Smith’s hamstring injury, he and rookie Teddye Buchanan controlled the middle of the field for multiple weeks. Buchanan took the starting job from third-year pro Trenton Simpson in Baltimore’s Week 2 matchup with the Cleveland Browns and never looked back. However, now, his starting role alongside Smith could be in question.
Ravens’ starting linebackers could be shaken up with Roquan Smith’s return
Head Coach John Harbaugh provided a confident update that Smith should be back on the field in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears. While his running mate was Buchanan for three weeks before getting injured in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the defense clearly was not in sync.
While Smith has been out, Buchanan has struggled, while Simpson has impressed. Buchanan has posted a 49.4 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), while Simpson has turned in an impressive 75.6 grade.
Buchanan is still making a case to hold onto the starting job. He has posted tackling grades of 84.5 and 81.8 in the past two weeks, per PFF, and is leading the team in tackles with 49. For a group that has struggled with missed tackles, those are encouraging numbers to see. He has shown major red flags, though. He has struggled with consistency in filling running lanes and providing strong pass coverage.
He seems to always be in the correct spot, but tends to be a step slow and take himself out of plays by playing hesitantly. These are some of the flaws that teams typically see from rookies, but with Simpson’s reemergence, it will be hard to keep the rookie on the field in a starting capacity.
Simpson has had two strong showings in his last two outings. He had a 65.8 PFF grade in Week 5 and a 72.7 grade in Week 6. The 24-year-old also racked up 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks in those two games.
The obvious move could be to move Simpson to outside linebacker, especially in the wake of the Tavius Robinson injury. Baltimore’s defense is hurting for pass rush production, but they also love versatility. Keeping Simpson as a starter next to Smith heading into Week 8 could provide that pass rush, while also utilizing his production in other areas of the game.
Buchanan certainly still deserves a large snap count, but it is becoming hard to ignore that he is being outplayed by Simpson.