Torrey Smith bids farewell to Ravens, signing with 49ers a 'done deal'

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver and impending free agent Torrey Smith announced that he's leaving his current team and will play elsewhere in 2015. Posting on his personal blog, Smith thanked the Ravens organization and its fans before saying that he will join a different organization next season. He did not specify which organization that would be, but the "expectation" is that he will sign with the 49ers, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports.

On top of that, Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun reports that Smith to the 49ers is a "done deal," barring any unforeseen snags. When I think about done deals and unforeseen snags, I'm instantly reminded of Adam Gase and the reports that suggested things were good to go before the 49ers made a change. I can't imagine that happening here but I'm not going to be totally comfortable until free agency opens and Smith officially signs.

San Francisco was initially linked to Smith on Saturday, when it was said the team had significant interest in the receiver. On Sunday, that interest became mutual, and the 49ers became the front-runner for his services. This was somewhat unexpected given San Francisco's cap situation and seemingly likely plans to draft a receiver in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

The fact that Randall Cobb re-signed with the Green Bay Packers at $10 million per season, coupled with the reports that Jeremy Maclin is also already close to a deal could have driven up Smith's price. He's arguably the top receiver on the open market with those two guys spoken for, probably just ahead of someone like, say, Michael Crabtree.

We've already had plenty of discussion about Smith, how he fits with the 49ers and how he'll impact the draft strategy of Trent Baalke. But the basics are these: he'll likely start alongside Anquan Boldin, he'll be a deep threat for quarterback Colin Kaepernick and he could pretty significantly alter San Francisco's first-round draft plans.