Chicago Bears first-round pick Roquan Smith finally ended his protracted holdout earlier this week and signed his rookie deal. The rookie linebacker spoke to the media for the first time on Tuesday and faced the inevitable questions about his contract dispute.

Among the questions he fielded was whether he regretted the decision to hold out and miss his first training camp. He replied frankly.

“No, that's just the business side of things,” Smith said, via the Chicago Tribune. “It is what it is. And I'm just happy to be here now.”

Smith's lengthy absence finally ended on Monday when the Bears and Smith’s camp came to a compromise on voiding guarantees, which paved the way for the deal to get done.

Smith has a lot of work to do in order to get up to speed after missing all that practice time. But he believes that despite the significant delay to the start of his pro career, he will eventually be able to get back on the same page with the team.

“I have confidence in the coaches and the athletic training staff and myself,” Smith said. “We'll take the proper steps for me to come back.”

Apart from being well behind in terms of preparation, another potential downside of Smith’s holdout is the negative reaction he might receive from fans. They likely weren’t too thrilled with the team’s first-round pick sitting out for so long.

But if Smith shows he’s every bit as good as the Bears think he is — good enough to be the No. 8 overall pick — then that won’t be too much of a problem.