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They’ve thought astir it. Of people they’ve thought astir it. Sunday could beryllium past telephone for Calais Campbell, for Jimmy Smith, for astir 2 twelve Ravens approaching perchance their past crippled successful Baltimore. The caput wanders, adjacent during Steelers week.
Campbell, asked Wednesday astir a aboriginal helium can’t predict, shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head. “You cognize what …” helium began to say. He chuckled, arsenic if helium didn’t cognize whether a Week 18 crippled against Pittsburgh, aft 14 years successful the NFL, aft 138 games and 120 starts, would beryllium his last.
“I conjecture you’ve got to benignant of admit the anticipation of the finality of it, you know?” helium said. “There’s conscionable truthful overmuch unknown. You’ve got to instrumentality it for what it is astatine the moment. And immoderate it whitethorn be, I deliberation I’ve got to spell retired determination and conscionable laic it connected the line, permission it each retired determination and conscionable spot however it goes. But I consciousness beauteous bully close now. So who knows? I mightiness beryllium going to bash it again. You’ve conscionable got to spot however it goes.”
Campbell said helium loved the crippled of football. He said he’d ne'er beaten the Steelers implicit his 2 years successful Baltimore. He seemed to recognize that if this is it for his career, if the Ravens (8-8) don’t get the insignificant occurrence they request this play to beforehand to the playoffs, determination are worse last chapters than a triumph implicit Pittsburgh (8-7-1) and Ben Roethlisberger.
As the shot satellite turns its absorption to M&T Bank Stadium for what volition apt beryllium the venerable 39-year-old quarterback’s past hurrah, Ravens officials are girding for an offseason of departures that could beryllium conscionable arsenic important successful scope. If the team’s play ends Sunday, wide manager Eric DeCosta volition face a smorgasbord of unit possibilities — retirements, extensions, trades — acold sooner than helium could’ve expected to adjacent a period ago.
So overmuch of the Ravens’ aboriginal is shrouded successful uncertainty, astir held captive by the franchise’s astir important question: Just however overmuch bash they worth backmost Lamar Jackson? But adjacent a megadeal hold wouldn’t neatly acceptable up the team’s offseason dominos, not with a volatile free-agent market, processing 2022 draught people and the uncertain aboriginal of immoderate aging Ravens.
The 33-year-old Smith, who similar the 35-year-old Campbell is not signed beyond this season, said Wednesday that he’s joked each twelvemonth since helium arrived successful Baltimore that helium was considering retirement. “But to really truly deliberation astir it, it’s excessively surreal, to beryllium honest,” helium said. The 2011 first-round prime has played successful conscionable 9 games this season, sidelined for stretches by injuries — a bugaboo passim his 11 years — and the coronavirus.
But helium played each antiaircraft drawback successful an fundamentally must-win crippled Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, allowing conscionable 1 drawback connected 2 targets for 6 yards. “When the clip comes,” manager John Harbaugh said Wednesday, “he ever shows up and plays bully football.” The Ravens’ 20-19 nonaccomplishment near Smith feeling adjacent much conflicted astir his future. “I don’t know, man,” helium recalled reasoning to himself. “I tin astir apt inactive play.”
Smith is simply a begetter to a increasing household now, and his children wonderment aloud wherefore he’s going to enactment again. His reply has been that this is each he’s ever done.
“It’s pugnacious due to the fact that I’m a shot player,” helium said. “I emotion it. Like, this is my life, and sometimes conscionable adjacent reasoning astir not playing it, I’m like, ‘Ugh, I don’t privation to bash thing else.’ But it is simply a grind, and it’s thing you person to mentally hole yourself [for], the older you get. …
“I don’t cognize what it’s similar to beryllium free. So portion of it is simply a small spot like, I benignant of privation to spell to the different broadside and beryllium capable to walk that clip with my household and bash those things and benignant of conscionable each the different worldly that I worked hard for. To get to this spot, I privation to spell bask that. But the different portion of maine is like, bruh, you cognize dang well, you’re a shot player. You privation to beryllium connected that field. So I tin speech astir it, but if the Ravens travel to maine and beryllium like, ‘Hey, we’ve been reasoning astir this. What bash you think?’ I’m decidedly each ears.”
Campbell said helium hasn’t adjacent considered whether he’d play for different team. When helium joined the Ravens successful 2020, helium said the grind of the offseason was eased by the imaginable of playing for a Super Bowl champion. But the Ravens won conscionable 1 playoff crippled past twelvemonth and now, amid a five-game losing streak, are a agelong changeable to beforehand to the postseason this year.
Campbell’s besides dealt with insignificant injuries and the coronavirus, some comparatively caller problems successful a vocation defined arsenic overmuch by his accumulation (six Pro Bowl appearances) arsenic his availability (no missed games from 2015 to 2019).
“This spot is decidedly special, and I’ve got a batch of guys successful this locker country who I respect, and who I’d privation successful my foxhole immoderate time of the week,” helium said. “And I cognize there’s immoderate guys successful present who judge that if circumstances were a small different, and if we had each of our guys together, that we’d beryllium a pugnacious squad to beat, and I deliberation that being a portion of thing similar that would beryllium fun. But it’s conscionable … I person nary idea.”
Added Campbell, the Ravens’ second-highest-rated player, according to Pro Football Focus: “I’m not adjacent definite I’m going to person idiosyncratic that wants maine to play shot adjacent year.”
The Ravens’ beforehand bureau considers versions of that question each offseason. This year, though, their determinations could beryllium particularly captious to the team’s short-term title aspirations.
As always, Ravens officials volition person to see whom they tin spend to keep. On offense, Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, halfway Bradley Bozeman, wide receiver Sammy Watkins, and moving backs Devonta Freeman and Latavius Murray header the team’s pending unrestricted escaped agents.
On defense, the imaginable free-agent exodus is acold much significant: antiaircraft linemen Brandon Williams, Justin Ellis and Campbell; extracurricular linebackers Justin Houston and Pernell McPhee; wrong linebacker Josh Bynes; cornerbacks Anthony Averett and Smith; and safeties DeShon Elliott and Anthony Levine Sr.
Other players could beryllium released successful cost-cutting measures. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, who has a $9.3 cardinal wage headdress deed successful 2022, turns 34 successful September and could look an uphill conflict to reclaim his starting occupation adjacent season. Tight extremity Nick Boyle, who counts $7 cardinal against the headdress successful 2022 and $8 cardinal against it successful 2023, and cornerback Tavon Young ($9.2 cardinal headdress deed adjacent year) person some dealt with important genu injuries successful caller years.
Then determination are the small-bore matters — decisions connected restricted escaped agents similar cornerback Chris Westry, exclusive-rights escaped agents similar backmost Tyler Huntley and returning veterans who mightiness beryllium amenable to a restructured contract.
There is simply a batch of clip for the Ravens to fig everything out. There conscionable mightiness not beryllium a batch of clip near successful their season. When Campbell and Smith permission the tract Sunday, their careers could beryllium ending. Or maybe, improbably, their postseason hopes could beryllium rising.
“Our absorption … it’s connected winning the game,” Harbaugh said. “The worldly that we can’t control, we can’t control. What you surely don’t privation to bash is person those things autumn successful spot and past not bash your part. So you person to bash your portion if thing is going to happen. There’s nary guarantees.”
Week 18
STEELERS@RAVENS
Sunday, 1 p.m.
TV: Chs. 13, 9 Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM
Line: Ravens by 5 ½
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