Roquan Smith May Be Right To Question How Highly Chicago Bears Value Him

Don’t dismiss the standoff between the Bears and two-time All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith as business as usual. Smith’s training camp “hold-in” and subsequent trade demand seem to suggest a difference of opinion more likely to lead to a change of address than a contract extension.

Smith may have said as much in the statement he gave to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapport on Tuesday.

“Since the day I was drafted, I vowed to play this position at a level that upheld the stand that was set by before me (by Wilbur Marshall, Mike Singletary, Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher and Dick Butkus), to uphold that respect and honor, and I have,’’ read the statement. “Unfortunately the new front office regime doesn’t value me here. They’ve refused to negotiate in good faith.”

Smith, like the since-traded Khalil Mack, was inherited by rookie general manager Ryan Poles from his predecessor, Ryan Pace. He’s widely viewed as the best player on the defense but that may hold little value as Pace and his hand-picked head coach, Matt Eberflus, are intent on overhauling a team that last won a playoff game in 2010.

Smith, selected with the eighth pick overall in 2018, is due to earn $9.735 million under the terms of the fifth-year option that was picked up by Pace in May, 2021. The website Spotrac lists his market value as $17.6 million and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has reported that a Smith extension could wind up costing the Bears $20 million a year.

With the ability to stick a franchise tag on Smith for the 2023 season after using the fifth-year option this season, the Bears are in position to play hardball. But it seems unlikely Poles and Eberflus would be a party to that in their first season in charge if they envisioned Smith as a key player on a playoff team three or four years from now.

Eberflus comes to the Bears after being defensive coordinator in Indianapolis. The Colts’ defense is built around Darius Leonard, wholast year ranked as the NFL’s sixth best linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus grades.

Smith has produced anecdotal evidence supporting his push for a top-tier contract — for instance, 30 tackles for loss the last two seasons, which is more than every other NFL linebacker except T.J. Watt — but PFFPFF
grades him as a poor run defender and a second-tier starter. It ranked him 64th among 87 qualifying linebackers despite his top-end speed, with a 30.0 grade in run defense (81st among qualifiers) and only a 55.1 grade in pass rush (75th among qualifiers).

It is unclear how highly Poles and Eberflus value Smith. You’d guess the Bears would listen to trade offers for him before the Sept. 11 opener, as well as at mid-season if he does eventually join practices and take his place in the defense.

Smith has been attending the Bears’ camp in Lake Forest but not practicing as he sorts through his contractual situation. The team placed him on the Physically Unable to Perform list at the start of camp but has not listed a specific injury.

His value — both to the Bears as well as interested teams — would seem to lie in him demonstrating he belongs in a class of linebackers with Leonard, Micah Parsons, De’Vondre Campbell, Alexander Johnson, Fred Warner and Peter Werner. It appears his new bosses believe they can find better ways to spend $20 million a year.