The contract dispute between Roquan Smith and the Chicago Bears have reached a boiling point. The star linebacker has been angling for a new contract extension since the start of the training camp. After failing to get his wish, he has decided that he wants out of the team. Roquan Smith has now requested a trade from the Bears. (via Ian Rapoport)
#Bears All-Pro LB Roquan Smith has requested a trade. pic.twitter.com/x4vmOMhROt
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 9, 2022
Amid all of the turmoil and chaos surrounding the Bears in the last few years, Roquan Smith has been a beacon of hope. The linebacker has consistently been one of the best players at his position. For the longest time, he was the anchor of a unit that has propped up a substandard offense at times.
However, it seems like Smith felt that the Bears did him dirty during his contract negotiations. In his statement to the public, the All-Pro linebacker detailed his frustrations with the organization. He said that the team has been trying to strong-arm him to take a deal much lower than his perceived market value.
Among the frustrations detailed:
— Roquan Smith has lost trust by what he believes are their attempts to take advantage of him.
— He feels this entire process hasn’t been a negotiation, just the Bears trying to strong-arm him with a take-it or leave-it deal https://t.co/E3tqyU6eAe— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 9, 2022
More frustrations:
— The backloaded offer, which wouldn’t make him the highest paid in actual salary, included proposed de-escalators that not a single player out of the 94 non-QB, $15M+ contracts has. He was offended.
— The deal would hurt the LB market as a whole. https://t.co/E3tqyU6eAe— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 9, 2022
Teams in dire help of linebacker help will surely be lining up to acquire the services of Roquan Smith via trade. Now, we'll see if the Bears oblige his request and ship him out to a new team.
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