Former Packers, Kentucky star Za'Darius Smith signs big contract with Super Bowl contender

It didn’t take former Green Bay Packers edge rusher, Za’Darius Smith, to find a new home, after the team elected to part ways with him. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Smith has agreed to terms on a four-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens.

Za’Darius Smith combined for 26 sacks in 2019 and 2020, the second of which he earned second team All-Pro honors and finished fourth in the league in sacks. A back injury over the summer derailed his 2021 campaign. He will now take his talents to the AFC North to help the Ravens in a playoff push in 2022.

The four-year deal comes at a decent price for the Ravens, as Schefter explains.

“Former Packers’ pass rusher Za’Darius Smith is signing a four-year, $35 million deal that has a max value of $50 million with the Baltimore Ravens, per source,” wrote the ESPN football analyst via Twitter.

Ravens re-sign Jefferson

The Baltimore Ravens have officially re-signed safety Tony Jefferson II, the team announced on Thursday afternoon via a press release. The 30-year old safety was signed to the Ravens’ practice squad on Dec. 13 and was quickly elevated the 53-man roster once their secondary was depleted by injuries. The former Oklahoma Sooner led the team with 10 tackles in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He ended the season with 18 tackles in four games, while also playing some on special teams.

From 2017-2019, Jefferson was a defensive leader in the Ravens’ secondary as a hard-hitting safety until he tore his ACL in Week 5 of the 2019 season. That injury ended his first stint in Baltimore. The Ravens released him that offseason and he missed the entire 2020 season.

He returned to the NFL last year with the 49ers, but he only saw action in two games before he was cut. Once he returned to Baltimore last year, he was able to prove he was once again healthy after his long road to recovery from his ACL injury.

The Baltimore Ravens had to deal with some of the worst injury luck in the NFL last season. They lost Marcus Peters, Gus Edwards, JK Dobbins, and LJ Fort all to torn ACLs before the season even started. Then, running back Justice Hill ruptured his Achilles. Injuries are part of the game, but there’s no question the Ravens had some of the worst injury luck a team has seen in quite some time. The franchise is hoping they have much better injury luck for the 2022-2023 season.