Ravens HC John Harbaugh on ILB Roquan Smith: ‘He was always a Raven’

The Baltimore Ravens brought in linebacker Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears in a trade many believe is one of the best in the franchise’s history. Baltimore gave up a second-round pick, a fifth-round pick, and inside linebacker A.J. Klein to Chicago for Smith and hasn’t looked back since.

“Our scouts do a great job. I think of [director of player personnel] Joe Hortiz going back and scouting Roquan [Smith] back at Georgia. Those are all in the reports. You knew what kind of a guy you were getting, for sure. Then, you saw him in Chicago [with the Bears] and how he conducted himself and how he played. You never know until a guy is here exactly how he’s going to fit in your chemistry. It’s definitely been right. It’s definitely been a perfect fit [and] a perfect match. He’s just been himself. He was always a Raven – he just didn’t know until he got here, I guess, to quote the great Steve Smith [Sr.]. It’s been a great fit. I think he does make everybody around him better, to your point. The greatest players tend to do that.”

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was asked about Smith and his contributions to the defense, which he raved about by calling the linebacker a great fit. He also said that Smith had always been a Raven; he didn’t know until he got to Baltimore.