The Chicago Bears have steadily improved their roster this NFL offseason with many new additions through free agency and the draft, but there has been the looming cloud of rookie linebacker Roquan Smith's contract situation.
This has led to him holding out with eyes toward working out a rookie contract that is more suitable to what he believes he should earn entering the league. Despite that, general manager Ryan Pace has stated that the team is optimistic that Smith will be in the fold soon, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com.
“We're optimistic he's here soon,” Bears general manager Ryan Pace told reporters Thursday, noting details in the contract were holding up Smith reporting.
“There's a process and meanwhile we're moving forward,” Pace added.
This has already seen the 21-year-old not report with the rookies on Monday, which continued to Thursday when the veterans reported to minicamp. Things could become quite intriguing as the start of the preseason is nearing as it would put him behind the eight ball regarding getting acclimated to the defensive game plan.
Smith is coming off an impressive collegiate career where he developed into one of the nation's best linebackers that were capped off by a strong 2017 campaign where he won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year along with earning the Butkus Award, which is given to the country's top linebacker. He is expected to step into a significant role with the Bears to vie for the starting middle linebacker spot, which is the anchor of the defense.
With the regular season quickly approaching, it should ramp up the efforts on both sides to get the rookie contract worked out before it gets to that point. The fact that Pace is speaking quite highly of Pace being back in the fold in the near future should mean things are heading in the right direction.
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