Update: Roquan traded to Ravens

[G08]

[G08]

I have no tolerance for this fucking bullshit. Dude held out for his first contract, finally signed it, and now he's not honoring it?

Way to make a first impression on your new head coach and GM.

[The Marshall Plan]

Only the Bears could fuck this up.

Franchise LB in his prime, widely regarded as an elite talent in the league.
$100M in cap space next season.
We also have a reputation for LBs.

They can't offer him a respectable contract.

[artbest01]

A LITTLE surprised by this - Ryan Poles is playing a long game. I'm sure he'd love for Smith to be a foundational piece, but he won't lose sleep if he's not. The Bears are going to be bad whether Roquan plays or not.

[G08]

Only the Bears could fuck this up.

Franchise LB in his prime, widely regarded as an elite talent in the league.
$100M in cap space next season.
We also have a reputation for LBs.

They can't offer him a respectable contract.

They have 0 reason to throw loads of money at Roquan Smith. The team doesn't fully know how well -- if at all -- he will play in this defense.

Stupid power play by Roquan. I hope he misses all of camp and some youngblood takes his job.

[crueltyabc]

I see both sides here. If I was Roquan, I wouldn't want to go into my contract year with nothing guaranteed going forward. As for Poles, I wonder what he thinks about Roquan Smith. The national perception is not as a favorable as the Chicago one - remember that he didn't make all-pro or even the pro bowl in 2021?

[Moriarty]

This will be very interesting to watch unfold.



Bears can afford to be bad, especially on defense, so some leverage to them

They have very little besides him at LB (although a fast WLB is usually a cheap commodity - but at this late date it gets trickier)

How do they value dissatisfaction for Roquan vs making prudent financial moves

What about precedent setting?

Do they have any concerns about him in the new system?

Hopes that his numbers would be lower and he'd be more affordable?

[wulfy]

They had to know this was a possibility.

Since we are determined to suck this year and burn at least a year of JF1's rookie deal, they might as well trade him for picks. Trade Monty too while you're at it.

[wab]

I don't say this lightly, because Roquan is arguably my favorite Bear, but I'd trade him and get whatever I could right now.

[UOK]

I'm fine either way. This contract shit will either result in keeping an outstanding defensive talent or recouping some picks that may help the future. I'd prefer he stay, but whatevs.

[dplank]

Should’ve already extended him, what’s there to think about? We pussyfooted around and Roquan called bullshit - I get it. Pay the man, he’s our best player FFS and will anchor our defense for a long time.

[Moriarty]

I'm fine either way. This contract shit will either result in keeping an outstanding defensive talent or recouping some picks that may help the future. I'd prefer he stay, but whatevs.

Possibly.

Although, if I may put a damper on an already cranky thread - he could sit out most of the season, come back for the last (6?) games to get credit for the year, not play very convincingly after sitting out so long, then stick the Bears with the gamble of paying big after an uninspiring little stint, letting him walk for a R3, or Franchising and extending the acrimony.

Just sayin'

[Moriarty]

Should’ve already extended him, what’s there to think about? We pussyfooted around and Roquan called bullshit - I get it. Pay the man, he’s our best player FFS and will anchor our defense for a long time.

They have made offers to him.

He just says he "wouldn't remotely consider them".
What that means about either side, who knows?

[RichH55]

Should’ve already extended him, what’s there to think about? We pussyfooted around and Roquan called bullshit - I get it. Pay the man, he’s our best player FFS and will anchor our defense for a long time.

Did we though?

Aside from the decently valid concern we have never seen him in this defense

It could be we offered to make him like the 3rd highest paid ILB of all time and he personally (does he have an Agent yet?) thinks he "wouldn't consider it"

That isn't the same as that being a valid thing to not consider

[RichH55]

I'm fine either way. This contract shit will either result in keeping an outstanding defensive talent or recouping some picks that may help the future. I'd prefer he stay, but whatevs.

Possibly.

Although, if I may put a damper on an already cranky thread - he could sit out most of the season, come back for the last (6?) games to get credit for the year, not play very convincingly after sitting out so long, then stick the Bears with the gamble of paying big after an uninspiring little stint, letting him walk for a R3, or Franchising and extending the acrimony.

Just sayin'

They are unlikely to get a R3 for him if they walk sadly

[Moriarty]

Possibly.

Although, if I may put a damper on an already cranky thread - he could sit out most of the season, come back for the last (6?) games to get credit for the year, not play very convincingly after sitting out so long, then stick the Bears with the gamble of paying big after an uninspiring little stint, letting him walk for a R3, or Franchising and extending the acrimony.

Just sayin'

They are unlikely to get a R3 for him if they walk sadly

Ah, that's true. They're probably going to be buyers next year.

So they'd have to trade while he's sitting out, franchise & keep, or franchise & trade

[RichH55]

They are unlikely to get a R3 for him if they walk sadly

Ah, that's true. They're probably going to be buyers next year.

So they'd have to trade while he's sitting out, franchise & keep, or franchise & trade

Pretty much

I wonder if Poles will view this as a blessing in disguise

[dplank]

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I'm fine either way. This contract shit will either result in keeping an outstanding defensive talent or recouping some picks that may help the future. I'd prefer he stay, but whatevs.

Same feelings here.

If he doesn’t want to be here, trade him and get a haul.

But I happen to think this is just posturing and he’ll get paid.

Zimmerman needs to cool his jets though. Poles is fine.

[Grizzled]

It's because they made him model the orange helmet and jersey.

[Heinz D.]

Only the Bears could fuck this up.

Franchise LB in his prime, widely regarded as an elite talent in the league.
$100M in cap space next season.
We also have a reputation for LBs.

They can't offer him a respectable contract.

But, this is the absolute first time we have heard the Bears made Smith an offer, correct? And we have no idea what that offer is?

Makes me think no concrete offer was given--just some parameters thrown to Smith's agent. Smith most likely always planned to hold out, so as to get payed right now. Kinda shitty, but that's often how these things are played.

They have 0 reason to throw loads of money at Roquan Smith. The team doesn't fully know how well -- if at all -- he will play in this defense.

Stupid power play by Roquan. I hope he misses all of camp and some youngblood takes his job.

I don't know that it's "stupid"...but it is unfortunate. But, players pull these kind of shenanigans all the time.

And if you think a rookie comes in and legit beats Smith for a starting position...I don't think you understand just how good he is.

[Heinz D.]

I don't say this lightly, because Roquan is arguably my favorite Bear, but I'd trade him and get whatever I could right now.

That would be an ENORMOUS mistake.

It's because they made him model the orange helmet and jersey.

If they made me model that ugly fucking helmet, I would have retired...

[Burl]

I’m all for building for the future, and I realize that linebacker isn’t an exactly critical position, but you just have to keep the good young players on your team when you can. Especially when you don’t have many of them. Unless he’s asking for something really ridiculous I don’t see how they don’t extend him. Who else is there to pay? Surely not running back or something.

[G08]

They have 0 reason to throw loads of money at Roquan Smith. The team doesn't fully know how well -- if at all -- he will play in this defense.

100% serious. He hasn't played 'live' yet in this scheme. I'm not saying he can't -- the kid is a talent -- but there is no tape on him in this scheme.

Stupid power play by Roquan. I hope he misses all of camp and some youngblood takes his job.

I don't know that it's "stupid"...but it is unfortunate. But, players pull these kind of shenanigans all the time.

And if you think a rookie comes in and legit beats Smith for a starting position...I don't think you understand just how good he is.

I think it's stupid in that he's under contract, this is a brand new regime from top to bottom, and he's starting off with this approach? Selfish.

You want to show the GM and Head Coach that you are the face of this franchise, the face of this defense? Show up, put in the work, and shut the fuck up. That's how you do it the right way, IMO.

I don't think a rookie will come in and beat him, I just hope it happens if this is who Roquan ultimately is as a professional athlete.

[thunderspirit]

I am almost always in the camp of the player getting whatever coin they can get, because careers are over in a blink, and that's particularly true in the NFL.

I don't think this is the way to go about it, personally, but it's not my career so my say on it should be taken with the whole damned shaker of salt.

[crueltyabc]

Does this really hurt the team very much if he’s not in the beginning of training camp? Would everyone be losing their minds if he had a sore hammy?

It’s a problem that Roquan doesn’t see eye to eye with his GM and coach. It’s not a problem that he’s not practicing.

Now if Quinn and Brisker don’t show up either it starts to get weird…

[Xee]

So what would be considered a "reasonable" contract for him? I have no idea what the top LBs are getting now.

[Mikefive]

It's an interesting, if predictable situation. Let's start with... The whole question about whether he would fit in this defense is utter BS. Roquan would be a perfect WLB for this team and be a star at it. From his POV, they have given away a bunch of team leaders and now he's pretty much it from a veteran perspective. He also knows that if this team is anything at all, the defense will have a big hand in it. He also knows that this is a rebuild year. So this year the team will likely suck this year with the hope that a better cap situation next year (that he can certainly leverage) may improve things. Of course, nothing is a given. Thus, it's in his interest to shoot for the contractual moon and if they have to deal him, he's likely to go to a team in a better situation than Chicago. So holding out is a win-win for him.

From the Bears side, we'll have to assume they offered him a reasonable contract, since they typically do so. And if Roquan wants the moon and stars, then they're in rebuild mode anyway. I'm sure they don't want to move him. But if he's trying to gouge them, they can sit tight, get other players some development PT--which has value in a rebuild year--and see what happens next year with the franchise tag always an option. And if they go the F-tag route in 2023, they might go ahead and move him for a big draft pick, since the team is still in the build up process. And let's face it, WLB in this defense isn't a difficult position to play and Morrow could probably fill that role just fine. Ryan Poles--as we've already seen with Ogunjobi--can cut his losses when he needs to.

It will be an interesting ride here. Who blinks?

[o-pus #40 in B major]

100% serious. He hasn't played 'live' yet in this scheme. I'm not saying he can't -- the kid is a talent -- but there is no tape on him in this scheme.

I don't know that it's "stupid"...but it is unfortunate. But, players pull these kind of shenanigans all the time.

And if you think a rookie comes in and legit beats Smith for a starting position...I don't think you understand just how good he is.

I think it's stupid in that he's under contract, this is a brand new regime from top to bottom, and he's starting off with this approach? Selfish.

You want to show the GM and Head Coach that you are the face of this franchise, the face of this defense? Show up, put in the work, and shut the fuck up. That's how you do it the right way, IMO.

I don't think a rookie will come in and beat him, I just hope it happens if this is who Roquan ultimately is as a professional athlete.

Yeah my gut feeling is there's already one elite drama queen in the NFCN. Bears sure as hell don't need one leading the Defense.

[The Marshall Plan]

So what would be considered a "reasonable" contract for him? I have no idea what the top LBs are getting now.

Roquan will most likely want something starting at $20M per year.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/av ... inebacker/