It was a tough season last year for the Chicago Bears. They finished the 2021-22 NFL season with a disappointing 6-11 mark. They will look to rebound this year on the back of second-year quarterback Justin Fields, but it seems like they may need to do so without one of their top defensive players after his shocking decision on Tuesday.
All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith has requested a trade from the Bears organization. Smith released a statement discussing all of his issues with the franchise at the moment.
“To the city of Chicago and all the Bears fans worldwide, I have officially requested a trade; just writing these words is deeply painful,” Smith said, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. “Unfortunately, the new front office regime doesn’t value me here. They’ve refused to negotiate in good faith, every step of this has been “take it or leave it”. The deal sent to me is one that would be bad for myself and for the entire LB market if I signed it. I’ve been trying to get something done that’s fair since April, but their focus has been on trying to take advantage of me.”
#Bears All-Pro LB Roquan Smith has requested a trade. pic.twitter.com/x4vmOMhROt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 9, 2022
Smith (seen above during organized team activities in June) went on to say that his relationship with the organization could be salvaged by talking to the McCaskey ownership family, but that he “doesn’t see the path back” to the Bears’ organization as of right now.
The former Georgia Bulldog is in the final year of his contract with the Bears, and it appears that he is looking for top-tier linebacker money that Chicago is just unwilling to offer him.
Smith took his game to a new level last year, finishing top five in tackles in the NFL last season with 163 tackles.
He has not been participating in Bears training camp thus far due to his issues with the Bears organization, and it appears that things have finally reached a boiling point for Smith.
We are seeing a similar situation with the Cleveland Browns and veteran running back Kareem Hunt. The Browns declined Hunt’s trade request last week. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Bears respond to Smith’s trade request.
[Ian Rapoport; photo from Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today Sports]
