ExtremeRavens Posted August 7 Posted August 7 Trenton Simpson loves the part of his job that calls for unchecked aggression. When the pads went on a week into Ravens training camp, he reveled in the resulting demolition derby. That doesn’t mean he sees contact as the essence of playing linebacker in the NFL. “The linebacker is the quarterback of the defense,” Simpson said. “He’s the person who sets the tone. Everything starts with the linebacker. It’s a pride thing. You’ve got to call the calls, set the front. When you have a great linebacker, I feel like that’s what makes a great defense.” An apt perspective in the town where Ray Lewis made himself the face of a new NFL franchise 28 years ago. But Simpson’s words also illustrate the enormity of the task in front of him as the Ravens ask him to leap into a starting job after he played just 46 defensive snaps his rookie year. He possesses every physical tool required and a mature outlook honed in a military family. Teammates and coaches don’t hesitate to offer bullish predictions on how he’ll handle the promotion. “The guy works his tail off like no other,” said Simpson’s All-Pro linebacking partner, Roquan Smith. “Always trying to find ways to get better, and you can see day-in and day-out his approach to the game, his extra meeting time, and the guy is probably one of the most athletic people on the team, if not [the most]. Jumps out of the gym, 4.3[-second 40-yard dash] speed, can do everything. With more reps and him putting it all together, I think the guy really has a chance to special, and he has that hungry attitude, so I’m just excited to go to work with him.” Make no mistake, however, the Ravens gambled aggressively when they made little effort to re-sign Pro Bowl inside linebacker Patrick Queen or to sign a veteran to compete with Simpson this summer. With a salary cap constricted by quarterback Lamar Jackson’s enormous deal, they have to rely on recently drafted players at key spots. In Simpson, they’re counting on a lightly tested third-round draft pick to do a complex job, one that did not come easily to his predecessor, Queen. Of Pro Football Focus’ top 20 graded inside linebackers who played at least 600 defensive snaps last season, only two were in their first or second seasons. “It’s always a step in this league,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He’s going to be expanding his responsibilities greatly, but he’s done much to earn that opportunity.” The Ravens are betting not just on Trenton Simpson’s talent but on the idea his task won’t be quite so daunting with Roquan Smith at his side. (Kim Hairston/Staff) The Ravens are betting not just on Simpson’s talent but on the idea his task won’t be quite so daunting with Smith at his side, calling the defensive signals from middle linebacker. Queen, for example, benefited from shifting to the weak side when the Ravens brought back veteran Josh Bynes to stabilize the middle of their defense in 2021. His play hit another level when the Ravens traded for Smith midway through the 2022 season. Context is essential, and Smith’s presence will mitigate some of the scrutiny on Simpson when he makes inevitable mistakes in zone coverage and other subtler aspects of his job. Two wildly different men live inside Simpson. There’s the easy-smiling 23-year-old who greets you with a firm handshake and thinks carefully before answering each question. Then there’s the berserker who began dropping teammates as soon as the Ravens introduced contact to camp. “I feel like I’ve been that way my whole life on the football field,” he said. “I truly do. When I put that helmet on, it’s like a switch. It’s time to ball. It’s time to be a dog. When I take it off, it’s good person, teammate.” It’s a familiar dichotomy for Ravens linebackers. Smith is a curious, affable conversationalist in the locker room, a foul-mouthed, guided missile on the field. “Being around Roquan has definitely helped me get better at turning that switch on,” Simpson said. “Every play is a game rep, Super Bowl trip on the line. So you’ve just got to focus like that.” Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr knows more than a little about thriving at inside linebacker while being a nice guy every day but Sunday. He sees Simpson’s personality as a natural fit. “Really, just as a football player, but I think specifically at that position, you have to have a different type of mindset when you step out on that field,” Orr said. “You have to be mean, you have to be tough, and you have to be physical. So, if you’re going to play middle linebacker, you know [that] when you step between those white lines, it gets real, real fast, so you’ve got to be ready.” Simpson spent his early years around Fort Benning, Georgia. His dad, Timothy, was an Army Ranger who served 17 overseas tours — father and son often had to maintain their bond over Skype and FaceTime — and rose to the rank of Command Sgt. Major. “It taught me discipline, how to be accountable,” Simpson said of growing up in a military setting. “Holding myself to a standard, having a routine, following it. My parents always instilled being respectful.” Taking on new jobs in unfamiliar settings, a pertinent quality for professional athletes, is second nature to him. “I feel like the Army teaches you to be adaptable,” he said. “You get put into different locker rooms, you do to different teams throughout your life, and you’ve just got to know how to adapt.” He made his football debut as a 6-year-old running back with the Northeast Packers. Like most young men, he felt most alive with the ball in his hands. He was still a ball carrier at the start of his career at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. In his first game as a starting defender, he sacked the quarterback three times. A deluge of scholarship offers soon followed. He was a 5-star recruit, listed by some recruiting services as the best linebacker in the country. Given such acclaim, he warmed to the notion of demolishing running backs instead of being the target. “I fell in love with it,” he said. His “get back up” mentality served him well last season, when, after a decorated career as a starter at Clemson, he watched Smith and Queen handle all the meaningful reps for one of the finest defenses in football. “I truly believe that it humbled me and brought me back down to have a true appreciation for the reps you do get,” Simpson said. “And then, whenever your moment comes, you have to maximize it. But honestly, it was the best thing that could have happened to me, because it gave me a year to grow. I sat behind two Pro Bowl linebackers. There was nothing rushed.” With Smith sitting for the Ravens’ regular-season finale last year, Simpson made four tackles, including a sack, in 26 snaps, earning one of the highest grades on the team from Pro Football Focus. His stellar cameo helped convince the team he would be ready for a star turn in Year 2. Simpson doesn’t pause in saying he expects to become a Pro Bowl linebacker, but his goals for this year aren’t that specific. “They just want to keep seeing growth, and that’s the goal for me,” he said. “Just being a growing player, learning from my coaches and teammates and becoming somebody they can trust.” After a year on the sideline, Simpson greets even the scorching, tedious days of camp enthusiastically. He’s a natural partner for Smith, who still sprints onto the practice field every afternoon in his seventh season. “You get a chance to go perform today,” Simpson said. “That’s the feeling I’ve been getting every single day, and I pray it continues to stay the same.” View the full article Quote
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