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Baltimore Ravens Must Acquire New Cornerback After Jimmy Smith Injury

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The Baltimore Ravens announced that defensive back Jimmy Smith will miss “a few weeks” with a sprained left foot. Smith left Sunday’s game in the first quarter and did not return to the game, leaving the Ravens with only two available cornerbacks.

This is a significant blow to the defense, as the secondary has been average at best even with Smith. Now, without arguably their most important player on defense, the Ravens will be forced to rely on Dominique Franks, who was mediocre against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and Chykie Brown, who was a healthy scratch in Week 8 due to poor play. Cornerback Lardarius Webb has had an underwhelming season thus far, though his struggles can probably be attributed to health issues throughout his career.

Clearly, the Ravens’ best option is to shop for a capable corner to replace Smith in the short-term and to play in nickel packages after his return. The Ravens were considering bringing in a cornerback before Smith’s injury. Champ Bailey was at the Ravens’ training facility for a workout earlier this month, though no signing was made. Now, the Ravens need him more than ever, and I find it hard to believe that Bailey isn’t at least a viable option as a nickel corner.

With the Ravens likely looking to trade running back Bernard Pierce or former second round draft pick Arthur Brown, there is a chance they acquire a new defensive back in a deal. Player-for-player trades aren’t very common in the NFL, but there has been rumors of the Ravens’ possible interest in San Diego Chargers cornerback Richard Marshall, who was less than stellar in covering Emmanual Sanders on Thursday Night Football. The Green Bay Packers‘ cornerback depth make a trade a possibility, and the Ravens could pursue either Casey Hayward or Davon House, though the Packers will be looking for draft picks in the deal. Whether the Chargers or Packers are willing to part with these players remains unclear.

It can’t get much worse than Franks and Brown, so the reward of taking a flyer on a player through free agency or a trade is probably worth the risk.

The Baltimore secondary was routinely beaten by a Cincinnati passing game that was missing A.J. Green. Nobody could contain Mohamed Sanu, who caught five passes for 125 yards, a troubling thought for a team preparing for a Pittsburgh offense that has emerged as one of the most dangerous units in the NFL.

Baltimore will hope for a speedy recovery from Smith as All-Pro quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers are looming in three of the Ravens’ next four games. Luckily, Baltimore will enter their bye week after facing the Tennessee Titans at home in Week 10. They will desperately need Smith to return by Week 12, when they will take on the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome.

The Ravens can take comfort in knowing they have one of the best pass rushes in the league, and they will have to come up big for Baltimore to keep pace in the suddenly tight AFC North in the coming weeks.

Brenden McLaughlin is a Baltimore Ravens writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b_maction or add him to your network on Google.

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