Roquan Smith Offers Brutal Honestly on Ravens 2025 Defense

The Baltimore Ravens have always been known as an organization that has been defense-first, but the 2025 season was a reality check that the team may not have been expecting. Injuries and more watered down the unit, which struggled plenty.

Linebacker Roquan Smith spoke to the media on Tuesday about the unit in 2025, and his own performance, offering some brutal honesty on how things went last season for the defense.

"I think personally my season wasn't the season that I wanted to have, regardless of the circumstances. Because you can't control circumstances, regardless of what circumstances you're put in. So, you control your response. And so, no excuses at all, but it wasn't a season of my standard, nor was it from a defense perspective as well," Smith said.

The circumstances that Smith may be pointing to are the injuries that the team had to deal with. 

"So, I feel like you got to first start with yourself prior to going anywhere else," Smith added.

The defense as a whole struggled, as they gave up a ninth-worst 354.5 yards per game, which includes the third-worst 247.9 passing yards per game. The Ravens only gave up 106.6 rushing yards per game, placing them in the top 10.

Still, the overall defensive unit struggled, as did the entire team. This has led to an overhaul of sorts for Baltimore. 

Though the Maxx Crosby trade fell through and became one of the biggest storylines in the NFL, the Ravens wasted no time by bringing in former Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher, Trey Hendrickson. To add an even bigger veteran presence, former Baltimore defensive lineman Calais Campbell was also brought back.

Former New England Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins was also brought in, and general manager Eric DeCosta may not be done adding players. In total, per Warren Sharp, the Ravens are second in money on their defense with $187.4 million.

"I think we're all pros so you know how to truly assess yourself and what you did and what you did not do. So I think each and every man has to be true to themselves and look themselves in the mirror. And yeah, there's a high standard, especially here from the defensive perspective as well as from my perspective because what five what five all pros and not making it something like that, like that's just personal," Smith said

This does include mainstays like safety Kyle Hamilton and cornerback Marlon Humphrey. Either way, the idea of rebuilding the defense was for a reason.

Minter is the former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator, and Weaver served as the defensive line coach for the Ravens before leaving to serve as the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. He is now back and taking up the same role under Minter.

With strong coaches in place and a unit that is packed with talented All-Pro and Pro Bowl-caliber talent like Smith, the Ravens could have a strong shot at reestablishing themselves as a defensive organization once again.