Roquan Smith

The Bears are no longer fighting first-round linebacker Roquan Smith on contract language that would void his guaranteed money were he to be suspended under the NFL’s new helmet contact rule, according to David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune.

However, Smith — the final rookie without a contract in place — is not attending Chicago’s training camp as his agents are still reticent about certain language in the Bears’ proposed pact, per Haugh. Smith’s agents want him protected in the event he’s suspended for an event that’s considered “outside the realm of a football play”: a late hit, for instance. The Bears aren’t willing to begin a new contractual precedent by including such language, although a team source tells Waugh that disinclination has nothing to do with Smith’s character.

Chicago has reportedly been adamant that it wouldn’t attempt to void Smith’s future guarantees over a “football play,” per Haugh. As evidence, the club has provided its reaction to linebacker Danny Trevathan‘s illegal hit on Packers wideout Davante Adams in 2017. After that incident, the Bears never made any attempt to recoup money from Trevathan or void his remaining guaranteed money.

Per Haugh, only eight teams have acceded to rookie demands of language that would protect their guarantees in the event of a helmet-related suspension. However, just four clubs have allowed the protection that Smith wants, so it’s unlikely the Bears want to create a new precedent given that most of the NFL has not given in.

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The Bears and Roquan Smith are at a “stalemate,” head coach Matt Nagy says. The lack of progress is likely frustrating for Nagy & Co. as Smith has yet to report to camp. 

“It is at a stalemate, but at the same time I’m not going to get into any more of where it’s at publicly. I don’t think it’s fair to him, I don’t think it’s fair to his agent, I don’t think it’s fair to our organization. We’re going to keep it between us and I think that’s the best thing to do right now,” Nagy said (via Mark Potash of the Sun Times).

The main holdup in talks may be related to the forfeiture of guarantees in the event of a suspension. This year, the league has introduced a new rule this offseason that could result in players getting suspended for lowering their helmets on hits. If the league starts handing out suspensions en masse, Smith’s agents do not want him to lose his financial security.

Meanwhile, one report says the real issue is language that allows the team to void guarantees for many different reasons, including team-imposed discipline. Whatever the holdup is, it’s becoming an problem.

Only four first-round picks have held out in the last five years. Under the current CBA, Smith’s holdout is the second-longest behind Joey Bosa’s 31-day holdout with the Chargers in 2016. The good news for the Bears is this – Bosa was stellar despite missing practices and went on to win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year trophy.

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Bears rookie linebacker Roquan Smith, the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, is one of only two first-year players from his draft class to remain unsigned. We heard several days ago that Smith’s holdout is related to the new NFL rule that prohibits a player from initiating contact with his helmet, and Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune reports that is indeed the case.

Smith’s camp is concerned that, if Smith were to be suspended under the new rule, the team could reclaim his guaranteed money. Head coach Matt Nagy conceded that fear is “part of the issue,” and four other sources confirmed that the new rule is at the root of Smith’s holdout. Campbell also says that Smith’s agents are asking the Bears to include in the contract a written assurance that the team would not go after any of Smith’s guaranteed money if he were suspended under the new rule. The Bears, meanwhile, do not want to include such a provision, and they are instead offering oral guarantees that they would be reasonable in assessing disciplinary action by the league against Smith. Just last year, the Bears did not seek to reclaim any guaranteed money from inside linebacker Danny Trevathan after he was suspended for an illegal hit on Packers receiver Davante Adams, as they deemed the hit to be the result of a “normal football play” without malicious intent.

Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, though, says the holdup goes beyond the new rules concerning initiating contact with the helmet (Twitter link). In fact, Graziano asserts that the issue is not the new helmet rule, and that the real source of contention is actually language that allows the team to void guarantees for many different reasons, including team-imposed discipline. So while the new rule would seem to affect Smith more than most rookies given his position and his reputation for tracking and tackling ballcarriers, the impasse may run a little deeper than that.

Campbell reports that both sides appear unwilling to blink, so it is difficult to say when Smith will finally suit up (he will not, of course, participate in this week’s Hall of Fame Game). Smith’s representatives at CAA Football represent plenty of other rookies who are already under contract — including Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, the No. 16 overall pick — so Bears fans will just have to hope that Smith and the team can find some sort of common ground as soon as possible (although CAA was able to get the written assurances it wanted in Edmunds’ contract, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that other teams refused to put in such assurances for CAA clients and deals got done anyway).

Smith’s representatives could not be reached for comment, and Bears GM Ryan Pace has not been available to the media since July 19.

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