Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith has announced that he will retire at the end of the upcoming 2015 season, closing the chapter on an illustrious 15-year Hall of Fame-caliber career.
Ravens WR Steve Smith announces that this, his 15th season, will be his last. He's retiring at seasons end.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) August 10, 2015
The former 2011 third round pick (No. 74 overall) out of USC heads into his 15th NFL season with eight 1,000-yard seasons and five Pro Bowl appearances. He’s also been honored as a first-team All-Pro twice.
If he comes anywhere close to the 1,000-yard mark this year, he’ll finish his career as one of the NFL’s Top 10 all-time receiving yards leaders. He currently ranks 14th all-time with 13,262 receiving yards and ranks 18th with 915 receptions and 33rd with 73 touchdowns across 198 regular season games (177 starts).
What will be his lasting legacy? NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says Smith will be his “favorite trash-talking badass receiver.” Smith has only spent one season with the Ravens (his other 13 seasons were of course spent in Carolina), but Ravens head coach John Harbaugh says he’s already become “one of the most fun players he’s ever coached.”
While he’s obviously long past his prime, Smith remains a valuable and effective chain-moving receiver and few (if any) players play with a bigger chip on their shoulders than Smith. All of his “chips are on the table” for 2015.
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