Steve Smith Sr. of the Baltimore Ravens announced several months ago that 2015 would be his final season in the NFL. However, that may not be the case as a new report from NFL.com's Ian Rapoport indicates that the wide receiver might still return for the 2016 season despite his apparent retirement plans.
Rapoport wrote, citing unnamed sources who "have stayed in regular contact" with the player, "Smith feels like his old, explosive self when he fully recovers from his torn Achilles, these sources say he'll play again."
As such, the 15-year veteran receiver could return if he feels healthy and strong enough to play after dealing with a season-ending Achilles injury in a match versus the San Diego Chargers on November 1. If Smith does come back, he would be playing in the last year of his three-year deal with the Ravens worth $10.5 million.
Following his injury, head coach John Harbaugh has also shared a similar sentiment and told reporters that he was confident that the wide receiver could return to pro football once he recovers. He clarified that he was not making an official announcement on the player's behalf, but simply giving an opinion based on his relationship with Smith.
It was back in August that Smith announced his retirement with the conclusion of the 2015 season. The 36-year-old veteran spent the first 13 years of his career with the Carolina Panthers. He then signed a three-year contract with Baltimore in March last year.
On Sunday morning, Smith responded to Rapoport's report and tweeted, "@RapSheet @nflnetwork Damn ya'll know more about me than I know about myself."
His return would be a major huge boost to quarterback Joe Flacco and the entire Ravens offense, according to NFL Spin Zone. Smith averaged an impressive 95.7 yards per game and 14.6 yards per reception prior to his injury. Upon entering his 15th season, the five-time Pro Bowler already delivered 3,262 receiving yards and 73 receiving touchdowns in a total of 198 career games.
Meanwhile, placekicker Josh Scobee recently claims that he was injured during the Pittsburgh Steelers' 23-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens during Week 4. Scobee, who is now a free agent, said that the team would have pulled him and put in another kicker if they knew he was hurt.
The player told The Florida Times Union that muscles on his legs were "tweaked" during the said game, but the extent was not well known. "I'm just now healthy enough to where I'm open to going to a new team," he said."No one really knew about it [the injuries] because I just didn't talk about it. After I had got released, I didn't talk about it."
The 33-year-old kicker missed two important field-goal attempts during the fourth quarter of the game and was ultimately released by the Steelers shortly after their Week 4 loss to the Ravens. According to Scobee, he has already been in contact with eight different teams and hopes to make his return to the league soon.
