AUGUST 21: Per Jeff Howe of The Athletic (subscription required), Poles never initiated trade talks with other teams, thereby suggesting that he was sincere when he said he wanted to keep Smith in Chicago. In polling rival executives, The Athletic learned that Smith is viewed as a good player, but not a great one, and his $20MM/year ask significantly dampened his trade market.
Several of those executives said if the Bears would have accepted a third-round pick in exchange for Smith, a club that believed it was a strong ILB away from a top-tier defense might have made the move and worried about the contract situation in 2023, but it does not sound like an offer of that kind was ever made.
AUGUST 20: Roquan Smith has been in plenty of headlines recently, seeking a major extension and formally requesting a trade from the Bears. The linebacker has changed course dramatically today. 
Smith returned to practice for the first time since his ‘hold-in’ began at the onset of training camp, the team noted. In conjunction with that news, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the 25-year-old “now plans to play out his contract” (Twitter link). Smith has one year remaining on his rookie pact, and will earn just over $9.7MM on the fifth-year option.
As several extension-eligible players have done this offseason, the former first-rounder has used his training camp absence as an attempt to gain leverage in contract negotiations. After the Bears tabled what he described as a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer, Smith was reported to be seeking $20MM annually – an unprecedented rate for inside linebackers.
With the Bears’ front office, now led by new general manager Ryan Poles, not reaching that compensation threshold, Smith formally requested a trade earlier this month. It appeared at that point that his days in the Windy City were numbered, but now contract talks have ceased and the Georgia alum will indeed suit up for at least one more campaign with the Bears.
One relatively unique aspect of the negotiating process is the fact that Smith has been operating without an agent. When speaking about his talks with the front office, he used the word “distasteful” to describe them (Twitter link via Adam Jahns of The Athletic). In spite of that, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tweets that Smith was not fined by the team for his absence from camp following their decision to remove him from the active/PUP list.
“This is the last year of my deal and I’m going to bet on myself as I’ve always done,” Smith also said (Twitter link via Cronin’s colleague Adam Schefter). Smith is currently scheduled for free agency next March, but the possibility remains that the Bears use the franchise tag to keep him in the fold for at least the 2023 campaign. With a performance similar to his previous two years in particular (in which he has earned Second-Team All-Pro honors), Smith could certainly boost his market value, either for outside teams to sign him or in a tag-and-trade scenario.
“We were super excited about that with him,” head coach Matt Eberflus said, via Cronin, of Smith’s return to practice (Twitter link). “He’s ramping up to get ready to go.” Smith will be counted on as a crucial member of the rebuilding Bears’ defense, which has moved on from several expensive veterans, but his long-term future remains very much in the air.
It was the smart play. Still hope they can work out a longer deal They have tons of money next year so it shouldn’t be a problem as there isn’t much on the roster to throw money at next year.
They will load up next year in free agency. They would love to have him, but Poles doesn’t seem the type to set the market for an inside linebacker. Unless he gets more reasonable, tag him to get the 6th year out of him.
Unless he shows he can take the next step in a new system and get to a Shaq Leonard level. He’ll certainly be motivated.
Willing to bet that a well timed “hamstring” or “high ankle ” occurs. This will allow Smith to actively participate and not have to hit the field on game day.
Next year the Bears will roll the dice on a major contract, and everyone will be happy, healthy, and ready to go.
Weak availability this year leads to a weak free agent contract. Not in anyone’s interests.
Well, I guess Smith showed them…lol.
Smith is a bit of a headcase to me.. I mean the holdout in his rookie year, then his mysterious absence when the team needed him (and really not a great year for him at all that season, (IIRC).. and now the language he used talking about the extension talks.. and finally not having an agent (which would also take the emotion out of the situation). I get the Bears throw nickels around like manhole covers, but Im not impressed with this guy when he is clearly not as good as either of the two top linebackers, regardless of whatever stat someone finds. He has holes in his game, and if calls it distasteful that the Bears would not forget about those.. well, again, an agent here would take out the ‘personal’ aspect of these negotiations and make business decisions.