Torrey Smith has likely played his last for Baltimore Ravens
Dec 28, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) catches a long pass to set up a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
A popular guy and a question mark in terms of value, Torrey Smith has been a major topic of conversation lately. It’s something many writers have touched on, yet few have reached conclusions.
Monday, Jason La Canfora tweeted that the Ravens had offered Smith a deal before the season:
I heard Ravens offered T.Smith 5yrs/$35M before the season with $19M guaranteed. $7M/yr is very fair. Smith started slow; finished strong
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 3, 2015
That’s about what Smith should expect on the open market this year, should he elect to go that route, and it is much more than the Ravens should pay.
Such a contract would have put Torrey between Stevie Johnson and Golden Tate among the highest paid receivers in the league, above guys like Roddy White, Anquan Boldin and Wes Welker.
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La Canfora says that’s a fair deal, but ultimately, it’s a deal that banks on Smith’s youth and perceived potential rather than what he has done on the field, with just one season of above average production to his credit. And that season was an inefficient disaster in its own right.
Let’s put it this way. Tony Wroten is averaging 16 points per game for a terrible Philadelphia 76ers team. Yet no one thinks of Wroten as a target for a huge extension. Nobody wants to pay him like a top-tier shooting guard. Why? His volume comes as a result of his team’s struggles. Just like Torrey Smith’s 2013 season (and if we’re being honest, most of his career).
With few NFL caliber receivers challenging him for targets, Smith was among the most targeted receivers in the league. Yet he caught less than half of those targets, resulting in a 65 catch, 1,128 yard season.
The Ravens must have been impressed to offer such a deal, and realistically, Smith did nothing in 2014 to change their mind. Yes, he started slowly, but he was making the same mistakes he always had, failing to gain separation on his cuts and dropping too many passes. Those were always problems, they were just exacerbated in the Ravens’ transition to a West Coast offense.
Now, some Ravens analysts continue to be wowed by Smith’s penchant for big plays and tendency to draw penalties.
This assumes that drawing penalties is a skill than translates from year to year. There is no proof to justify that, though. More likely, it is a result of Joe Flacco‘s tendency to underthrow deep balls.
The big plays will always be there. Once Torrey has a defense beat, there is no catching him. There is legitimate value in that. Just not $7 million per year worth.
In discussing free agency in a recent article, I said Torrey Smith was worth $5 million per year, not a penny more. I stand by that. With an already tricky cap situation, the Ravens can’t afford to make the mistake of locking up an average receiver to an above-average deal.
I have been extremely hard on Torrey Smith of late, yet I do genuinely like the guy and value his contributions to the team. He is without question the most productive receiver the Ravens have ever drafted, and at the right price, Smith can be a great option for a team.
But with few options on the market (Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas are expect to either be franchised or re-sign), Torrey has a choice to make. Take a home-town discount or find a sucker to overpay for him. I don’t blame him if he takes the money, but I would blame the Ravens should they be the sucker to overpay him.