The Bears made another significant move yesterday, trading star linebacker Roquan Smith to the Ravens. At only 25-years-old and with a pair of All-Pro nods on his resume, Smith didn’t necessarily have to be a casualty of Chicago’s pseudo-rebuild. However, GM Ryan Poles made it clear that Smith’s contract demands meant he probably wasn’t going to be sticking around Chicago long-term.
[RELATED: Ravens To Acquire Roquan Smith From Bears]
“There’s part of me that’s bummed because this was a guy that I thought was going to be here for a long time,” Poles said (via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin). “I felt like we put a lot of effort forward to get that done, and we came up short. We couldn’t find common ground. And that’s just a part of this business, which I think we all understand.”
According to Poles, the Bears presented Smith with their final extension offer before the season. While the organization held out hope that the linebacker would reconsider, it became increasingly clear that the Bears would struggle to meet Smith’s asking price if they continued to negotiate this upcoming offseason. So, instead of seeing how things unfolded following the 2022 campaign, the team decided to be proactive and trade the linebacker now.
“The reality of it is that you have to ask yourself a question: Are we ever going to find that middle ground? And from our previous conversations, you gather that information and it felt like it was highly unlikely,” Poles said. “So then are you able to then take the opportunity to enhance your roster now? Or are you OK with the chance that he walks away and we can’t use some of that to enhance our roster. And that’s what it came down to, and I felt like we had to move forward at that time.”
As our own Sam Robinson noted yesterday, the Bears would have been hard pressed to retain Smith via the franchise tag since the player would have been attached to an edge rusher-level value. Chicago could have also played out Smith’s contract year and counted on the compensatory formula, but the two-pick return from Baltimore obviously trumps that value.
Today’s move saw Chicago add a second- and fifth-round pick, with A.J. Klein added to the deal as a throw-in. The trade came days after the Bears dealt veteran defender Robert Quinn to the Eagles.
Smith had games where he looks dominant, then he has games where he disappears as well. He also seems a bit emotional in regards to allowing it to possibly affect his play. But this will really be a deciding factor on how Poles does in Chicago: If Smith goes and has an All pro career and the Bears do what they have been doing for the past 10 years, then Poles will be just another failed Bears GM, and right before the Bears try to move (that is if Arlington heights even whats them at this, or that, point)
Smith is a slightly above average LB. If he hasn’t shown HOF-level play consistently before, he ain’t gonna start now.
Slightly above average LB??? Those words would not be said if he were still in Chicago. Not smart
Smart and disciplined move. Wasn’t that good In a weaker LB position anyway
Wasn’t that good? Are u serious?
Other than his tackling numbers, no. Counting stats like sacks etc, lacking. And just a lot numbers are inflated due to the style defense the Bears play as well as a weak front line that ball carriers get through to the second level.
He’s most definitely a “good” player and sometimes great. But he wants to be paid like a Shaq Leonard or a Von Miller and he’s just not at that level.
With every position needing an upgrade does it make sense to blow a bundle on this guy? He’d probably be in decline by the time those upgrades were completed anyway. Historically, the Bears do well at finding LB talent so a divorce here will probably benefit both parties in the long run.
Yeah, it’s really a no-brainer. You don’t blow money on a LB in the midst of a complete rebuild. The Bears need a couple of good drafts before they’re ready to contend. They simply have other priorities to address (OL, DL) that will take time to. Spending money on anything other than a franchise QB right now would be just waste money and slow the process.