NFL Free Agency: Ravens LB Roquan Smith Lands on Top-Paid Players List

We're smack-dab in the middle of NFL free agency, and teams are ramping up for April's NFL Draft, too. Sports Illustrated took to the task of naming the top player at 15 positions in the league, from quarterback to punter.

SI labeled Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith as the player at his position with the highest APY salary.

Roquan Smith - Baltimore Ravens - Salary: $20 million

"Here’s another case of a player getting traded and then getting paid, with Smith signing a five-year, $100 million deal after he was dealt to Baltimore from the Chicago Bears in 2022.

"Last season, Smith had his first full campaign in Charm City and played splendidly, totaling 158 tackles and eight passes defensed on the way to first-team All-Pro honors. With Smith playing inside, Baltimore allowed Patrick Queen to walk in free agency."

In addition to his 158 tackles and eight passes defended, Smith tallied one interception and one forced fumble, along with 1.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and five quarterback hits.

Under first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr, Smith is expected to continue his prowess. Back in November of last year, following a 37-3 smashing of the Seattle Seahawks, Smith commented on his move to Baltimore and what his future holds.

“Man, it’s pretty crazy thinking back to when I was initially traded,” Smith says from the winning locker room. “It was bittersweet for me, just knowing Chicago and rightfully so. But if I would’ve stayed there, honestly, [I] wouldn’t have been able to compete for a title anytime soon. And then when I came over here, it took me a while, like a couple of weeks, to really realize how stacked this team was, as well as how many good people there are on this team, and how they just bring in truly good people.

“And when I just think about it from the perspective of having the opportunity to compete for one year in and year out with the talent we have. Man, it makes me so happy, just knowing my career is not going down the drain, in the sense of playing somewhere where I’m not truly competing for a title.”