The Baltimore Ravens and LB Daryl Smithhave reached an agreement on a four-year contract, general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsomeannounced Friday afternoon.
"There are a lot of smiles around the building today after we got a commitment from Daryl Smith to stay a Raven," Newsome stated. "He fills a need for us at a high level. Just look at his production last season, plus he gave us leadership and maturity. He's tough, he's consistent, he's intelligent, and he brings his lunch pail to work every day."
The 10-year veteran Smith, who turns 32 today, joined Baltimore last season after playing each of his first nine NFL seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has seen action in 142 career games (140 starts), recording 1,219 tackles (789 solo), 26.5 sacks (-177.5 yards), 49 passes defensed, nine interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
During the 2013 campaign, Smith started all 16 games at inside linebacker for the Ravens and led the team with 123 tackles (57 solo), while establishing career highs in sacks (five for -43.5 yards) and interceptions (three). He also posted a career-high 19 passes defensed, setting a Ravens' record by a linebacker (Ray Lewis, 13 in 2003), and added two forced fumbles. In a Week 3 (Sept. 22, 2013) game against Houston, Smith intercepted Texans QB Matt Schaub and returned it 37 yards for his first-career touchdown.
The 6-2, 248-pound Smith was one of just three NFL defenders (Lavonte David and Karlos Dansby) to post at least 100 tackles, five sacks and three interceptions in 2013. Smith has also tallied 100 tackles in eight of his 10 NFL seasons, including seven straight from 2005-11.
Originally selected out of Georgia Tech in the second round (39th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft, Smith owns Jacksonville's franchise record with 1,096 tackles.
