The release of the 2015 NFL schedule buried what might have been the most important bit of Ravens news on Tuesday: the team signed cornerback Jimmy Smith to a contract extension.
Smith, the 27th overall pick in the NFL draft in 2011, agreed to a four-year, $48 million extension that keeps him under contract with the Ravens through the 2019 season.
After injury and ineffectiveness took a toll on the Ravens' secondary in 2014 -- and especially in the AFC divisional round loss to the New England Patriots -- locking up Smith, the team's best cornerback, before he hit free agency next year was applauded by many, despite his history of injuries.
Smith has come a long way since his rookie season. He missed the final eight games last season because of a foot injury that he is still rehabbing, but through the first half of 2014 was playing like one of the NFL's best defensive backs. He allowed just 20 catches for 163 yards and no touchdowns, had one interception, eight passes defended and 28 tackles.
His career did not start that way. There were questions about whether Smith would develop into the shutdown cornerback the Ravens thought they were getting with their first-round draft pick in 2011 after he started just five games over his first two seasons.
He progressed through the 2012 season, however, and prevented San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree from getting open on fourth down at the 1-yard line, all-but sealing the Ravens' 34-31 victory in Super Bowl XLVII.
Smith started all 16 games in 2013, his third season in the league, before truly emerging in 2014. Despite his size (6 feet 2, 209 pounds) and draft status, it took time for him to fulfill expectations.
The situations are different in more ways than one, but Ravens fans might want to keep that in mind when evaluating the first two seasons of safety Matt Elam's career.
The 32nd overall pick in 2013, Elam has thus far been a disappointment. He made a game-clinching interception in the Ravens' 18-16 win over the Detroit Lions in 2013 and intercepted a pass on a two-point conversion attempt in the team's 30-17 wild-card playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in January, but mostly has struggled with tackling and coverage.
But before giving up on Elam -- he's just 23 years old -- remember that Jimmy Smith didn't become Jimmy Smith until he was 25.
What's certain is that if the Ravens are going to improve a pass defense that ranked 23rd in the league last season (248.7 yards allowed per game), they need their two most recent first-round defensive backs to play as projected.