The debate has raged now for two weeks. Roquan Smith began his hold-in from the Chicago Bears over a contract dispute. Then he chose to escalate matters further by requesting a trade, citing GM Ryan Poles not negotiating “in good faith.” Now fans and the media are divided on the subject. Many claim Smith is the team’s best player. Rewarding the best player is supposed to be good business. At the same time, others feel Smith isn’t worth the trouble or the money. Not just because of the distractions he can create but also the position he plays.
Name the last linebacker to lead his team to a Super Bowl title. That is the primary argument many are putting forward when explaining why a trade makes sense. Ironically, no one made the case better than Colin Cowherd. The longtime analyst and radio host discussed the Smith situation on The Herd. From the way he put forward why a trade is in the best interests of the Bears, it was difficult to argue the point.
"This is your Monta Ellis-Steph Curry moment… Be the Warriors and not the Bears." @ColinCowherd explains why it's time to trade Roquan Smith pic.twitter.com/363peEx9PF
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 17, 2022
Roquan Smith is a reminder of how outdated the Bears are.
No franchise in NFL history has a more stellar linebacker legacy than Chicago. Since the 1950s, they’ve employed Bill George, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, and Brian Urlacher. Four no-doubt Hall of Famers. In that time span, the Bears have won two championships. All the while, other franchises shifted resources towards quarterbacks, wide receivers, and pass rushers. Chicago has one of the cheapest receiving corps in the NFL. The same goes for the offensive line. That can’t be allowed to continue.
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Roquan Smith wants to be the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. That much is obvious. The Bears aren’t willing to go that far. He’s never played in this new defense before and hasn’t been as impactful as others like Shaquille Leonard and Fred Warner. It isn’t a crazy assumption that Poles might’ve traded him already. There is one problem. The return likely wouldn’t be worth it. Matt Lombardo of Heavy Sports revealed why.
“Multiple league sources believe the Bears will most likely need to settle for a second and/or third-round pick in return for Smith, if they are even able to find a trade partner with the draft capital and cap space to fit a new long-term extension.”
So Cowherd is right, but he’s also wrong.
The smart thing to do is trade Smith. Unfortunately, they can’t expect reasonable compensation for what he brings to the table. That is why the two sides remain stuck in the mud. There is no clear way out for either side. Not unless another team is ready to offer a 1st round pick for him.
Well that wasn’t a compelling case at all.
Any NFL player who represents himself in salary negotiations has a fool for an agent. Mix that with the 2018 incident of missing a game for “personal reasons” and you might see the beginning of a trend. I suspect that Ryan Poles does not abide fools and either trades, sits or cuts him to keep from infecting the locker room.
Does anyone else remember the nitpicking idiocy that made him less than ready to play in his first season? The obvious tactic for management is to do nothing, dock him the max, and let him try again next year at this year’s salary. Maybe they plan to D.B. Cooper him out of the flight to Seattle. The real question is whether he looks more stubbornly stupid straight ahead or in profile? It’s a touch call. No market for idiots like that. Does anyone out there want to buy trouble on wheels?
Roquan is untradeable. If the Bears won’t pay him then no one else will either and they certainly aren’t giving up a high pick or more to get him. The Bears control his rights. Pull the offer and tell him to get to work.
I think a lot of people are forgetting that it’s not just up to the Bears to trade him. The team he is somehow to be traded to will have to be willing to pay $100M plus.
It’s not just about compensation for the Bears, it’s about some team willing to pay him what the Bears are not willing to pay.