Ravens Star LB Excited to Finally Return

The Baltimore Ravens' last few weeks without some of their best players have been tough, with their dispiriting 1-5 record putting the former contenders in a deep divot to dig out of. But now that their Week 7 bye has come and gone, the team may have gotten the right amount of rest required to return to the field with full strength.

Lamar Jackson has headlined the inactive list since leaving the Ravens' early collapse to the Kansas City Chiefs, as he's yet to take an in-game snap this October. The losses only continued to pile up with Jackson's backups desperately tried and failed to regain control of the ship, but they've had a lot more to deal with outside of the 2x MVP.

Roquan Smith accounted for another one of the tough hits that the Ravens took in that disappointing loss, but unlike Jackson, he's already announced that he's ready to go this upcoming weekend. He'll attempt to bring some much-needed fire against his former employer in the Chicago Bears, the next team up on Baltimore's docket.

"I'm excited about the matchup, for sure. I haven't gotten a chance to play Chicago since I've been here," Smith said during media availability this week. "[I'm] grateful for all of my time in Chicago. [There are] lot of amazing people over there [that I] have a tremendous amount of respect [for], but obviously, it's the team that's on the schedule, and every team on the schedule has to get dealt with accordingly."

Smith so far in 2025

Smith, notably, hasn't looked like his usual excellent self in limited appearances this season. He's set a fairly high bar for himself since moving from Chicago in earning First Team All-Pro appearances in both of his two full seasons with the Ravens, but his impact felt inconsistent through the three complete games he appeared in before sustaining a hamstring injury, the same ailment that's bogged down Jackson.

Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Roquan Smith — Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) slides against Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith (0) and defensive end DJ Reader (98) during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It sounds like he used his week off productively, though, as did the rest of the Ravens. Smith spoke glowingly of the vibe around practice since they returned to action. "I feel like everyone is refreshed, regenerated, and everyone is feeling exactly what we know we need to feel in order to be the best version of ourselves. So, that's what it's about – going out and doing that – and I felt like the energy was really great at practice. Guys were dialed in, locked in."

Baltimore's been waiting for the schedule to ease up, and even with the Bears' promising 4-2 record, they're not up to the reputational caliber of everyone else that they've had to match up against. After getting trounced for a month straight, they recharged Ravens have a chance to dole out some punishment of their own.

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