The Ravens lack playmakers at the receiver position. We know it, the team knows it, and opponents know it. There are two big reasons for that: Breshad Perriman’s knee injury and Torrey Smith’s departure.
While the circumstances surrounding the former have been very frustrating for fans, the latter is the bigger reason for the team’s struggles.
Through four games, the longest gains from passing plays for the Ravens have been on short throws that Steve Smith has turned upfield and tacked on YAC. Before this week’s signing of Chris Givens (from whom I expect very little), the Ravens had absolutely no speed at the wide receiver position. There is still no reliable threat on this team to stretch the field vertically.
Torrey Smith could do just that. He is enough of a threat in the intermediate and short areas of the field that corners can’t just play off coverage. They have to be concerned about the underneath routes, too, which opens up opportunities down the field in single coverage.
At this point in the season, the Ravens could use a receiver like Torrey Smith.
And Torrey Smith would be better off, both financially and with his chances of winning more games, if he took the Randall Cobb approach and signed the 5-year $35 million contract that he was offered before the 2014 season (according to Jason La Canfora), instead of the 5-year $40 million contract with the 49ers.
The future doesn’t look so bright for Torrey in San Francisco. Colin Kaepernick has been awful. The 49ers’ quarterback has averaged fewer than 200 yards per contest and has thrown just as many touchdowns (2) to his own teammates as he has to players wearing the wrong-colored jerseys.
Yikes.
If those numbers continue, Kaepernick may not have a starting role for long, and the 49ers could plunge into another stretch of offensive failure similar to what they experienced after Jeff Garcia left the team — which would be a big problem for Torrey Smith. With an unreliable quarterback, he is very unlikely to thrive. With Kaepernick struggling this year, Torrey has recorded just 2.25 receptions per game for under 50 yards.
If his lack of production continues, the 49ers may decide that he isn’t worth the money and cut ties with the former Maryland Terrapin before the 2017 season. They would save $4.9M against the cap.
I am sure that he would love to go back in time and sign the contract that LaCanfora claims the Ravens offered him before the 2014 season. Giving up that extra $1 million per year would have been worth it for Torrey’s career in the long run. He would be much more likely to play out the length of his contract and more likely to sign another decent contract to play out the rest of his career.
Unfortunately for both Torrey and the Ravens, that won’t happen.
