Failing to make a trade, John Harbaugh drools over Roquan Smith's acquisition

The NFL trade deadline passed on Tuesday without any last-minute moves from the Baltimore Ravens, but head coach John Harbaugh had been expressing confidence in the current Ravens roster since the start of the week.

Harbaugh said Monday, "Do we have a specific overarching have-to-have guy? No. We have an excellent roster." That indicated the approach the Ravens took heading into deadline day, and that was later confirmed with the franchise passing on many potential deals.

Some notable trades happened around the league and it cannot be argued that Baltimore would have benefited from landing some of the players that got traded.

The San Francisco 49ers strengthened their defense by trading for Commanders' star defensive end Chase Young. Washington also traded Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears. The Detroit Lions secured wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns.

"[Roquan Smith] comes here, and he's … I don't know. Sometimes it's a good fit, too, like he comes in here, and it's kind of like, this place really fits him. He'd probably tell you that. It fits his personality [and] his style. He's been a great fit. It's one of the all-time great trades that we've made. Nothing against the Bears. They got a good pick out of it, and they made – salary cap and all the things they got out of it – it's probably going to be undersold a little bit, but in the end, you'll see how it pays off for them. Maybe it was a win-win [situation], but it was definitely a win for us."

- John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens

Harbaugh, however, pointed toward last year's success in trading for a superstar defender in linebacker Roquan Smith. Smith changed the outlook of the Ravens entirely, and that might have been enough to convince Harbaugh and DeCosta to not actively pursue trades this year.

Reflecting on last year's impactful acquisition of Roquan Smith, Harbaugh said Monday, "[Smith] has been a great fit. It's one of the all-time great trades that we've made." Smith has indeed made a significant impact in his second season with the Ravens, ranking fourth in tackles.

Harbaugh reiterated his confidence in the team ahead of deadline day on Monday, stating, "I love our guys. I think we have everything we need to be successful." And that better be the case after Baltimore didn't complete a move on Tuesday.

Despite a quiet trade deadline for the Ravens, however, they hold eight picks in next April's draft, including one pick in each of the first five rounds and their own seventh-round pick. Additionally, they have the Jets' seventh-rounder from the Chuck Clark trade and are likely to receive a compensatory fourth-round pick after left guard Ben Powers' departure to the Denver Broncos in free agency.

With the deadline in the rearview mirror, it's time for the boys to focus entirely on what happens on the field and nothing else, which isn't bad considering the Ravens are entering Week 9 tied for the best record in the NFL at 6-2. Let's keep the ball rolling.

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