On October 31st, 2022, the Baltimore Ravens traded a second-round pick, a fifth-round pick, and inside linebacker A.J. Klein to the Chicago Bears in exchange for inside linebacker Roquan Smith. The deal has already gone down as one of the better trades in Baltimore history, with Smith being a perfect fit both on and off of the field.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was asked on his thoughts on the deal one year after it all went down, and went into detail about the perspective from both sides. he said that he’s been a great fit in Baltimore, but Chicago got a good pick out of the deal along with salary cap space.
“With ‘Ro’ [Roquan Smith], you knew from the college draft [that] that’s what they all said about him at [The University of] Georgia. Then, [when he was with] Chicago, you talked to people who played for the Bears and people in the organization – [like] coaches – and that’s kind of what they said about him there, too. [They said] that he’s a leader and all the things that you’ve seen, but you don’t know, exactly, and you don’t really hear it to the extent. Maybe people don’t want to tell you too much either. Then, he 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.”