We need to lock Jimmy Smith up NOW

[leachisabeast]

Slow down. Smith has been good but he's nowhere near Richard Sherman. Hopefully one day.

It doesn't take long in the NFL. Thats why I said give it till 2015 to see where things are at, thats more than enough time to evaluate whether Jimmy will truly become an elite corner or not.

[JAB1985]

If the theory is that Jimmy Smith would sign a mid-level contract and we could avoid the risk of paying him Richard Sherman prices, then sure. But would you do that if you were Jimmy Smith?

The only way Jimmy would want to do it is if it is a big contract. And if it's a big contract, why would the Ravens want to do it early?

thats the reasoning why a FO would sign somebody early. you think their trajectory is higher than currently and you can get them at a good value. the negatives being they dont reach that, or they get injured. signing them early gives them flexibility with the contract itself.

Theres plenty of reasons for a player to sign a favorable contract extension a year early. Injury risk, which DBs are known to have, is certainly the biggest. Theres a lot of factors that go into it but why people say, "sign him now" is directly in relation to feeling hes going to get even better. As far as whether Jimmy wants to or not, i have no idea, but a lot of players are open to extensions before FA if its a fair deal and protects them from injury. Just look at Webb for the pros of signing early. He was being compared to Revis, and we signed him for less than Finnegan or Carr got (partially because we used his final year to prorate his bonus irrc). He ended up getting hurt, which it was very doubtful he would have got anywhere near what he got from us had he not signed.

[Corey]

And not all players want to sign early. A lot know they can get much more money on the open market and want to wait till they get a chance to test the waters there. For all we know Ozzie could have already tried to go to Jimmy and he said "no way man."

For every Joe Flacco, that gambles and wins, there is a guy like Dennis Pitta or Peyton Hillis who see their value drop due to injuries or poor production. Players are aware of that to. I dont care what anyone says if a guy is making 1 million a year now and he has the chance to raise it to 7 or 8 per year now or wait a year or two and MAYBE get to 10 or 11, he is going to take the money now.

[BcRaven]

One item that goes against even my own feeling on the subject, is that the Ravens offered Cary Wms a 3 year, $15 million contract prior to the 2012 season. He turned it down and waited to become an UFA... Bc

[GOTA]

It doesn't take long in the NFL. Thats why I said give it till 2015 to see where things are at, thats more than enough time to evaluate whether Jimmy will truly become an elite corner or not.

Every young player that has a good year isn't on their way towards being a star. Just look at Paul Kruger. It wasn't the waiting that I had an issue with. It was the comparison.

[Haloti92]

Step 1.

Are you sold on the player? If yes, proceed to Step 2. If no, let him play out the deal for more evidence.

Step 2.

Do you even have the current cap room to give him a big deal right now? If yes, proceed to Step 3. If no, let him play out the deal.

Step 3.

Is he the highest priority in terms of players you would like to lock up long term? If yes, proceed to Step 4. If no, let him play out deal and/or work on the other players first.

Step 4.

Start negotiating by offering a deal that is significantly lower than the deals the player may get after another great year of playing. If player refuses, proceed to Step 5. If player accepts, mission accomplished.

Step 5.

Possibly increase offer very slightly, but in general, hold firm. There is no sense paying anywhere close to the maximum you might have to pay after another great year. If you 'lose' the contract terms gamble, you pay up a bit in one year's time, but you benefit from another great year of player performance (as player is motivated). If you 'win' the contract terms gamble, you save yourself a 'bad' deal and cap space, and likely get the player for the right price or cheaper.