NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Roquan Smith traded to Ravens! (Emergency Pod)

Episode Date: October 31, 2022

A virtual room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, and Gregg Rosenthal react to the breaking news that Roquan Smith has been traded from the Chicago Bears to the Baltimore Ravens. What does this mean for the Ravens' chances to compete for a Super Bowl? What is the plan in Chicago? The heroes discuss the impacts of this move as the trade deadline looms...NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Tom Pellicero and Ian Rappaport here in the NFL network newsroom with some breaking news, Ian, but over 24 hours before the NFL's trade deadline, and one of the biggest names on the trading block now has a new home. We'll take it from here, Rapsheet. Nice try. around the NFL has got this one covered. Dan Hans is here with Greg Rosenthal and Mark Sessler. Yes, Roquan Smith, no longer a member of the Chicago Bears

sent to the Baltimore Ravens. This was a rap sheet report in exchange for a 2023 second and fifth round picks and linebacker A.J. Klein, per source, informed of the deal. And yes, this is a around the end. NFL special trade deadline mini pod here just to break down what just went down and i'll start with you greggie uh roquan smith big time player a big difference maker and the ravens are a team that sees a window here that's open and they get aggressive yeah the first thing i thought is okay the ravens want to win the super bowl this year and it's interesting how they value linebacker

maybe more than most teams, the history that they've had there. And they thought Patrick Queen was going to be the next guy to fulfill that legacy that Ray Lewis started, really. And it just hasn't worked out that way. He's been up and down and I was curious. They kind of go how his Patrick Queen goes, and I was curious because I don't really,

it's hard to evaluate offball linebackers. I was like, I wonder how he graded in that last Bucks game because he had a couple great games. It seemed like he was making a lot of big plays. And I went and looked and he got a big fat F in that game. So it sort of made sense that they made this trade to me, but I immediately wondered, and I don't know what you think, Mark, like, is this a long-term move? You give up a second and a fifth round pick. That's eight years of two young players in a second round pick's pretty

high. Or is it just something where they're trying to get better this year at a position where they feel like they're thin? I think it would be a little bit of both, because the Ravens have always been aggressive in these trade deadline situations, but there's no way that I think a team of today. Now, I mean, another team that loves linebackers are the Bears, Dick Butkus, Wilbur Marshall, Brian Erlacker. Not this staff. They didn't want to pay Roquant Smith. They didn't, but I would just say historically as an organization. But I don't imagine any team today could say if we go get a star linebacker, that's the thing that lifts us above the rest of the AFC. So I'd have to view it as both a, it's this year, it's a team that could win the Super Bowl, could go to the Super Bowl,

but also they have to view them as someone that's part of their long-term plans at a position they value where you've got Patrick Queen, you've got Josh Bines, but you could certainly insert Roquan Smith and make it a absolutely centerpiece of your defense. And the background with Roquan Smith, a former first round pick in 2018, all the next-gen stats on our end of things with the NFL. He jumps out, including 330 defensive stops, which is first in the NFL, 6.4% sack rate. That's first in the NFL minimum 200 pass rushes, 5.9 yards per target. That's fourth in the NFL, minimum 200 targets. So he's obviously a big time player. He was unhappy in Chicago. If you listen to the show in the summer, you're aware that he had requested

at a trade in August he held in during training camp he was frustrated at the lack of an acceptable long-term contract offer from the bears and you know a trade in the offseason seems very possible but trading him in season especially if you're happy with the assets that the other team is giving up and a second round pick and we know second round picks are extremely valuable in the NFL because of not just the quality of the player you can get but team control and the cost effectiveness compared to a first round pick. So this year, he stayed healthy through eight games. He's 25. He leads the NFL with 83 tackles. So he's a, he's a big time addition for Baltimore on the Chicago side of thing. You're right, Greg. Like if this management,

if the front office of the Bears saw him as a true building block, he's exactly somebody that you would keep around. I feel like that's what they said back in the summer when they were turning down the trade request saying no he's a building block apparently not but i'm bummed if i'm a bear's fan because in a week you go from beating belichick in new england and a romp to trading your two best defensive players and robert quinn and rocon smith but this is also very much a team in transition starting from the ground up and starting to feel good about their young quarterback in justin fields but also being aware they need to reboot the whole machine right it's like it's a tough position to put your head coach, Matt Eberluse, and I'm sure he is on board with this move by Ryan Poles,

but it really shows that Poles is trying to rebuild as much as any team in the NFL. You mentioned, I mean, Quinn wasn't playing as well this year, and he's 34. Like, that totally made sense. Roquant Smith is a young player that you would normally build around is maybe your best player. He was a second team all pro in each of the last two years. And you're right, like some people believe he's one of the best in the league. The Ravens really do.

He's a guy that, like, PFF grades never liked. And I always feel like it's hard to evaluate these offball linebackers and what they do in coverage because you don't know the responsibilities. But the Ravens, who are as analytically minded as anyone, give up this many assets. I tend to think that they will want to re-sign them. And I think this trade was a little closer to old Mark's friend Sashi's trade of Brock Osweiler back in the day than we realized. Because the Bears basically bought a draft pick. they decided in both this case and Robert Quinn's, and we didn't learn this until after the fact, to pay much of his salary before sending him, like accelerate the money, and that they basically are kind of paying that money because the Ravens don't have a lot of cap space, and the Ravens are sending them these picks. And they're kind of paying for draft picks. And so they now have a first, two seconds, a third, two fourth, and two fifths. And they have $85 million in dead money. That's the other benefit.

of doing that is like you put all the money on this year. I mean, that's practically half of an entire team's salary, $85 million in dead money this year. And then you clear it up for next year. And I guess that's a smart thing to do. It just sucks when you have like nine games left and you're trying to go out and win. But it is what Ryan Poles talked about the bears doing all along. So he's sticking to what the current philosophy is. And I agree you don't, the problem is like you have to go find the next Rockwon Smith. And you already had them. So you're moving them. And that's the thing I think that a lot of these rebuilding teams say they're going to do and then it never happens. But you mention all the draft picks. They have effectively

$120 million in cap space next season, which is almost twice as much as the next team, the Falcons. So it's like this is a team that when they talk about rebuilding, you've got the assets and the money to do it. The question is, can you do it? Because you're giving away good players. Now you're going to go find them. We've seen this on our podcast 15 times. It's worked probably three times. And the Ravens are team that we talked about it on the flagship show on Sunday. We're looking for great teams and they're coming off a nice win and now you add Roquan Smith. They're going for it. I think it's pretty clear to me and probably pretty much everybody else that it's the bills at the top of this conference and then the Chiefs. But, you know, Baltimore,

I think if they could put some things together here and build up some momentum, I think they're right there. So I love the move for the Ravens. I like anytime a front office is aggressive when they feel like they have it. Again, Lamar Jackson, I know he's not going anywhere more than likely, but this is a finite window. You have this core in place and a young quarterback in Lamar that could take you to the promised land, build around him as much as you can and see if the dice fall your way come January and February. So I love that trade. And on the bear side, one last point, as great as Roquan Smith is. And we just said that he leads the NFL and tackles. Chicago still has the second worst run defense in the league.

And it's just kind of a reminder of how much work they have to do. So if Ryan Poles is a guy that you believe in, trust the process, like a Jets fan, trusting Joe Douglas to build up a roster, which he has, maybe they can do the same thing in Chicago. Trades that make sense. I like them. I do too. And I find it fascinating when a smart team like this, like the Raven does something unorthodox.

And because I tend to think you're not going to give up those picks unless you are ready to sign him long term. Or that that's a good chance. Kind of like when the Rams traded for Von Miller. I think they expected to sign Von Miller. They tried to sign von Miller. They offered him $20 plus million a year. I think they see Roquan Smith as a fixture in their future. And I looked and they actually have $48 million in cap space.

And they're like fifth or sixth in cap space next year. So they can take a look at them in their system for seven or eight games. If it works out, he gets that money, I believe from then. I don't think it stops them from signing Lamar Jackson. And if for some reason it doesn't work out, they're like the compensatory pick ninjas. They always lead the NFL in compensatory picks. And they'll probably figure out a way to not sign too many guys so that they get her third or fourth back for them. So they're trying to have their cake and they'll eat it too.

But I tend to think they want Rokwon Smith to be the next Ray Lewis and be one of those guys that they pick up mid-career. like Jason Peters. Remember he used to be, I mean, Jason Peters is the wrong example. The Eagles did that, but they've picked a couple guys in the middle of their career that end up sticking there for a long time. Yeah, and that's now, and let me know if I missed one,

but three Pro Bowl players that have been moved now in the past week and a half, Christian McCaffrey from the Panthers to the Niners, and you saw what he has already done with San Francisco. Robert Quinn was moved to the Eagles, turning from the bears, turning that, strength into an even greater strength in Philadelphia, and now Roquan Smith to the Ravens.

So the contenders are loading up, and who's the next to go? Mark, let me know who it is. Who's the next player to go before the Tuesday, November 1st deadline? I think Zach Wilson will be traded to the Texans. No, I don't know. I don't like a bizarre open question like that. He's starting the rest of the year. We'll hit that on.

I wonder if the Ravens will add a receiver too. I mean, I think maybe they could. I think it's possible. Well, we learned today that Rashad Bateman is out weeks. I would say this. I'd say Brandon Cooks, if I really had to gamble, I'd say Brandon Cooks would be on the move. You're not allowed to gamble. No.

That's part of the drill. Verbly gamble. Verbly. I had set you up and then you got to hit in on poor Zach Wilson who's struggling right now. Well, you know, I had to get the Jets. We didn't have two Jets mentions in this podcast in this 12-minute podcast if we could. Well. Wait, there's a cat.

There's a cat on Mark. yeah are you turning into like the cat like there's cat ladies are you gonna are you turning into like a cat man no i'm just like watching someone's cat for three days so is this how the story ends mark in a house with cats no you know you got to stop cats need better PR cats are amazing cats uh cats are better outside of a home and in the shadows if possible out in the wild versus inside of home. Yeah, they're not a trustworthy animal. I mean, my cats were let out throughout my childhood,

but they would come back with like dead mice and leave them at the door as a little present for us. No, there's a warning to you that they'll come get you if they get the chance. Get a dog. We had both. Team both. Team both. All right, well, team both.

All right, well said. That is it for an emergency edition of the Around the NFL podcast. If another trade goes down, it will be Mark Sessler, handling a solo from his cat domicile. So we appreciate that in advance, Mark. And thank you to everybody for listening. We have more content coming tonight, the Monday Night Football Recap with Greg Rosenthal and very special guest. Did we announce the special guest? I don't want to announce it, but you can. If they made it. Nick Wessling. There you go. Cincinnati's shining sun on the west side. So make sure you tune in for

that. And then we'll be all back together again, tomorrow, Tuesday, on the around the NFL podcast. And I think, actually, if another trade goes down between now and then, we'll probably wait until Tuesday, unless Zach Wilson is traded to the Houston Texans. In that case, we would have to come on the air. But that's it. Rude. Rude, Mark.

The man's struggling. Apologies. Dan Hansa signing off for Quiet Storm, the old boss, and the gravedigger somewhere in cybers. See you tomorrow. This is an IHeart podcast.