Projecting Lamar Jackson, Roquan Smith's Ravens Contracts After LB's Trade from Bears

With regard to the 2023 salary cap, the Baltimore Ravens will cross that bridge when it comes.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Ravens are acquiring linebacker Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears for second- and fifth-round draft picks.

Beyond what Smith will provide for Baltimore's defense in the second half of this season, this deal is interesting because he joins an already large group of notable free-agents-to-be on the team.

Spotrac projects the Ravens to have $37.4 million in cap space next year. That's not a lot of money considering Smith, Lamar Jackson, Marcus Peters, Kyle Fuller, Josh Bynes and Ben Powers are all due to hit the open market.

You wouldn't expect this trade to affect what the organization was planning to offer Jackson. Baltimore simply cannot afford to let the 2019 MVP walk.

Through eight games, Jackson has thrown for 1,635 yards and 15 touchdowns while running for 553 yards and two touchdowns.

Applying the franchise tag to the 25-year-old would cost around $45.4 million. Beyond the risk of alienating your best player, that would also make a long-term extension even more expensive in 2024 when factoring in the typical inflation of the quarterback market.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter reported in September that Jackson declined a $250 million extension that included $133 million guaranteed. He's pushing for a fully guaranteed contract since that's what Deshaun Watson got from the Cleveland Browns.

A $250 million overall value is reasonable given how it would be the third-biggest deal in the NFL. Pushing the guarantees to $150 million or $175 million—Russell Wilson's $124 million guaranteed at signing is the second-most behind Watson—would represent fair bargaining, too.

Surely Jackson and the Ravens can find some middle ground.

Baltimore might take a more determined stance with Smith, who failed to negotiate a long-term extension with the Bears.

The 6'1", 232-pound defender has an NFL-high 83 tackles to go along with 2.5 sacks and two interceptions through eight games in 2022. He also has the kind of proven track record that leaves you feeling confident about striking a multiyear pact.

However, Smith doesn't play a premium position. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Lavonte David has the highest cap hit ($14.8 million) for an inside linebacker this season, and it's nearly half of what the highest-paid outside linebacker (Joey Bosa, $28.3 million) is earning.

The Bears' unwillingness to go above and beyond to keep Smith might be telling as to his market value.

You typically don't see an NFL team give up a second-round pick in a trade for a player who's only going to be around for half a season. Were Smith to leave, the Ravens would at least get something back in return, though.

Right now, the smart money might be on Smith wearing a uniform other than Baltimore's in 2023.

General manager Eric DeCosta will have to make some tough decisions this offseason. It's unlikely to be a binary choice between Jackson and Smith, but re-signing Jackson to something other than the franchise tender will have clear ramifications.

If one of those consequences is being unable to sign Smith for $15 million-plus per year, then so be it.