NFL Rumors: Daryl Smith Leaving Baltimore Ravens For Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL rumors have been swirling around Daryl Smith. The Baltimore Ravens wanted the veteran linebacker to take a pay cut because they felt that his skills had eroded a bit. General manager Ozzie Newsome released Smith to let him see what teams in the National Football League felt his value was. That move cost Newsome a linebacker. According to ESPN, Smith is on the verge of signing a contract to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Daryl Smith will forever be known as the man that tasked with the difficult assignment of replacing Ray Lewis, arguably the best player in the history of the Baltimore Ravens. No one realistically could fill shoes that enormous, but Smith did a tremendous job of being himself during those three years. Smith being himself is a quality NFL linebacker. Now, the Ravens need to task someone with replacing Smith on their defense.

During his three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Daryl Smith was extremely productive. He led the team in tackles last season. Smith also tallied more than 120 tackles for every season that he was with the Ravens. No NFL player remains undefeated against time and age. Smith started struggling in pass coverage last season, so Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was forced to replace Daryl on obvious passing downs with Zachary Orr, who might now be the full-time replacement.

Going into the offseason, the Tampa Buccaneers vowed to improve their defense. They signed Brent Grimes to a $16.5 million contract after reportedly being released by the Miami Dolphins because his wife trashed the organization. Josh Robinson left the Minnesota Vikings to join Grimes in Tampa Bay. The New York Giants gave a monster contract to Olivier Vernon, so defensive end Robert Ayers decided to take his act down south and signed with the Buccaneers.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set at weak side linebacker with Lavonte David. He’s a Pro Bowl player now. Kwon Alexander had a tremendous rookie season. The Buccaneers are set at middle linebacker with him. The strong side linebacker position is the one that needs an upgrade. Tampa Bay didn’t feel that Bruce Carter was adequate, so he was released. Daryl Smith will get a chance to take over for Carter.

It will be interesting to see how Daryl Smith does with a position change. He manned the middle linebacker spot for the Baltimore Ravens. Moving to the strong side linebacker position requires some adjustments. For the starters, the strong side linebacker usually takes on the blockers so that the middle and weak side linebackers can make the tackles. It’s a more physically demanding position, but Smith is 6’2?, 250 pounds, so he should be able to make the adjustment.

Signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers means that Daryl Smith gets to reunite with Mike Smith. Mike was the defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars whenever Daryl was playing there. The two of them kept in touch while Mike was the Atlanta Falcons head coach and Daryl was the Baltimore Ravens linebacker. Mike was fired, so he took over as the defensive coordinator for the Buccaneers.

Daryl Smith could have chosen to sign with an NFL team that was closer to chasing the Super Bowl. At 34 years of age, he’s closer to the end of his career in the National Football League than the beginning. It’s very unlikely that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can get to the big game. However, Smith believes that the Buccaneers are building something special. He wanted to be a part of that. If his veteran leadership can help them win more games, then Smith will have made the right move.