Roquan Smith’s impact and productivity dipped to new lows in 2025, when the middle linebacker and central nervous system of a failing defense came through with fewer big plays and momentum-changing hits. Smith also faded into the background as an outward voice of the defense and he continued to be a liability in obvious passing situations. While never championed as a pass rusher, he offered less than ever behind the line of scrimmage, teams once again attacked Baltimore’s defense in the middle of the field in shallow and intermediate quadrants with abandon, yet Smith remained a fixture in their nickel and dime looks that got picked apart far too often. Given all the draft capital dealt for him and his $20M salary and prohibitive cap number, and the fact that former coordinator Zach Orr was a former linebacker who was not yet ready for that job, one could argue too much deference has already been shown to the player.…