The Baltimore Ravens have had a rather eventful 2022 free agency so far. After not making a move over the first 24 hours of the legal tampering period, the team signed safety Marcus Williams and offensive tackle Morgan Moses. Then the next day they reportedly agreed to a contract with outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith.
However, it is now being reported that Smith is not signing with Baltimore The whole situation seems to be quite complicated, but it appears as if Smith will re-assess his options and see if he can get more money than the initially agreed upon four-year, $35 million deal between him and the Ravens.
Plot twist: Former #Packers pass-rusher Za'Darius Smith is not signing his deal with the #Ravens after all, sources say. He remains a free agent.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2022
Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reported that Baltimore felt that they had a verbal agreement with Smith, but the outside linebacker changed his mind.
The Ravens felt like they had a deal with free agent OLB Za'Darius Smith yesterday, felt like they had a verbal agreement.
But Smith changed his mind. You never say never, but it seems unlikely this is salvageable.— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) March 17, 2022
It’s possible that Smith saw how much money Chandler Jones and Von Miller got from the Las Vegas Raiders and Buffalo Bills, respectively and thought he could get more money than what he originally agreed upon with the Ravens. Pass rush now jumps to the top of Baltimore’s needs list again, and the team will continue to look at all of their options.