Bears Rookie Roquan Smith Staying Away

Bears first-round pick Roquan Smith is not with the team as the rookies report for training camp on Monday, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The linebacker and the Bears are still negotiating his rookie deal, so he may be staying away until an agreement is reached.

For now, this technically is not a holdout. It won’t officially be a holdout unless Smith does not show on July 19 when veterans are due to arrive.

The Bears and Smith could be in disagreement over the linebacker’s offset languagePlayers with offset language who are cut before the end of their rookie contract have the remaining guaranteed money reduced by whatever they earns elsewhere. Without offset language, players get to double dip. Top 10 picks expect to complete their rookie contracts, but it’s an important issue for agents nonetheless.

Smith, the No. 8 overall pick in the draft, finished in the top ten of Heisman voting in his final year at Georgia. In 2017, he tallied 137 total tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, and 6.5 sacks.

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