Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Wake-up caw: Torrey Smith supports Rice

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith said he's standing by running back Ray Rice and his fiancee after speaking to them following their arrests.

"It's definitely a situation that it's nothing to be proud of for us or for him," Smith told The Baltimore Sun. "He knows that. But Janay and Ray are great friends of ours. They're focused on trying to fix it and make things right and we're going to support them like we have in the past."

Smith is the latest from the Ravens organization to support Rice since he was arrested and charged with simple assaultin a domestic violence incident in an Atlantic City casino Feb. 15. At the NFL combine, coach John Harbaugh said he expects Rice to play for the Ravens in 2014 and general manager Ozzie Newsome said he feels "very good" about Rice's side of the story.

"Who are we to judge them?," Smith said.  "We don't know what happened and we don't know what they're building on. I've talked to him and they are in a great space and trying to continue to grow from it. The fact that they are going on, moving on, trying to grow from it, we're going to support them more than ever because a lot of people are going to turn their backs on them."

Here's the rest of your wake-up caw ...

  • John Eisenberg, of the team's official website, believes these three free agents fit the Ravens: center Alex Mack, wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and safety Jairus Byrd.

  • Joe Hortiz, the Ravens' director of college scouting, believes moving the draft to May will benefit the team. "The draft being extended by a couple of weeks, it gives you more time to look at players, see more guys, maybe get to more workouts and spend more time with players," Hortiz told Comcast SportsNet.

  • Clifton Brown, of Comcast SportsNet, thinks Florida State's Terrence Brooks and Northern Illinois' Jimmie Ward, two free safeties who could go in the second round, may be targeted by the Ravens. "If Brooks or Ward is available in the second round or later, the Ravens may grab either," Brown wrote. "But adding a safety is a lower priority for the Ravens than strengthening the offensive line, or adding a playmaking receiver."

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