Steve Smith Sr. had a message for Steelers safety Mike Mitchell after Baltimore's victory Thursday night.
The veteran receiver left the game in the third quarter after a hit to the back, and Smith didn't mince words when talking about the shot from his former Carolina teammate.
"I got speared in the back by an ex-teammate," Smith said. "I kind of know his character, who he is. After he hit me he said, 'How do you like that?'
"The best thing I could do without threatening him and saying that I will assault him when I see him, is I'll say I look forward to playing him again. He's on my lifetime hit list."
Smith and Mitchell played together in Carolina in 2013, and the safety has a reputation of drawing unnecessary roughness flags and fines for his playing style. He drew $40,000 in fines during that lone season with the Panthers.
He was also flagged for a hit to the head on Smith last year when the Ravens faced off with the Steelers.
Smith left Thursday's game after making a catch on the sidelines. Mitchell didn't tackle Smith on that play, but did hit him earlier in the game.
The receiver initially tried to walk off the injury, but he called for trainers and dropped to the ground on his way back to Baltimore's bench. He was in clear pain while the medical staff attended to him and missed the rest of the game with what was described as a lower back contusion. It's unclear if he will return for next week's game against Cleveland.
"It's probably the first time in my career I feel like I'm 36," Smith said. "I'm trying to get through tomorrow. I'm trying to make it to the airplane."
In addition to losing Smith, wide receiver Michael Campanaro also left the game with an injury. The Ravens provided no update on his status after the game.
If Smith and Campanaro are out for an extended period of time, that would leave the Ravens with Kamar Aiken, Marlon Brown and Darren Waller as the team's only healthy receivers. .
