Baltimore Ravens: Steve Smith Sr. makes right call in 2016 return
Steve Smith Sr. made the right call in returning to the Baltimore Ravens for next season as his final year in the NFL shouldn’t have to be remembered as ending due to injury.
There is no questioning the heart, intensity and pure love of the game when it comes to Steve Smith Sr. When he was cut by the Carolina Panthers a few years ago as a salary cap casualty, many didn’t expect he would put up some serious numbers as a member of the Ravens.
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So far with the Ravens, Smith has totaled 1,735 receiving yards on 125 receptions and nine touchdowns. His passion on the field to prove that even though he’s 36 years old and can still keep up with the best of them fuels him to continue suiting up and putting the Ravens back in the spotlight as contenders again. Not only for his individual accomplishments but the fact that everyone around him gets better because of his leadership.
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Unfortunately during the regular season in November, Smith went down with a season-ending Achilles injury. Originally during the summer, he announced this would be the last season he would play since he wanted to retire. Via his personal Twitter account however, Smith let his fans and the football world know that he changed his mind:
Smith made the right call in returning since it would have been a shame to have his final few moments in the NFL be remembered as going down to injury. He continues to illustrate his keen offensive abilities, speed and excellent route-running. This season would have been vastly different for the Ravens if not for all the injuries, especially to Smith when he was taking care of business on offense.
Now with him recuperating this off-season, there is no doubt that he’ll be back with much to prove. Considering that he’s currently ranked No. 11 on the all-time NFL receiving list at 13,392 yards, anything he does in 2016 will only rank him up even further among an elite company that played wide receiver.
Even his teammates are excited he announced his return, especially offensive tackle Kelechi Osemele. In an article written by Jamison Hensley for ESPN.com, here is what Osemele had to say about Smith’s return:
"“He’s not the type of guy to go out like that,” Osemele said. “Obviously, we can’t wait to have him back. I know he’s going to come back in the best shape of his life and he’s going to dominate because that’s the type of person he is.”"
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Smith has had a prolific NFL career and it goes to show that even though he played with a chip on his shoulder with the Ravens due to how the Panthers released him, he continues to never give up even after doing his best to bounce back from his latest injury. It also is a great way to end his career by playing the final year of his three-year contract he signed with the Ravens in 2014 and going out in the spotlight.