For a team that is 3-1 and one game away from going into their bye week with a potential 4-1 record, the Chicago Bears are a team surrounded by confusion. It starts with the injury to Mitch Trubisky which leaves the starting quarterback job in the hands of backup Chase Daniel. Then there is the baffling situation with inside linebacker Roquan Smith. He caught everybody by surprise last Sunday when he was suddenly downgraded to doubtful and made inactive for the game against Minnesota.
When questioned about the issue after the game, head coach Matt Nagy steadfastly refused to give any details. All he kept saying was that it was a “personal matter.” This launched a series of wild ideas about what the problem could be. A car accident the night before the game? Mental health concerns? A desire to not wear the Bears throwback uniforms which come from an era where black players weren’t allowed? Nobody gave up anything.
Matters were since made that much muddier when Nagy declared on Wednesday that Smith would practice in full with the team this week.
Smith then finally broke his silence with the media. From the outset, he made it clear he was not getting into the details of what happened. Like Nagy, he called it a “personal matter” and it was behind him now. Shortly after, he confirmed his intention to play next Sunday in London against the Raiders.
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Roquan Smith no doubt hopes to move on from bizarre situation
Getting Smith back on defense isn’t a bad thing. Nick Kwiatkoski filled in for him brilliantly against Minnesota but the Bears will need Smith’s athleticism and coverage skill to counter emerging Raiders tight end Darren Waller. Not to mention his speed will be of huge benefit against athletic rookie running back Josh Jacobs. Many people are just happy that he’s back and whatever the problem was is behind him now.
Yet that doesn’t erase the entire episode.
If the Bears had lost that game to Minnesota, people would be asking a lot more questions about it. As it stands, most just care about him getting back on the field. Odds are this entire episode will be forgotten within a month unless it comes up again in the future. All anybody can say is that it might be the weirdest sequence of days regarding a Bears player witnessed in the past several years.
