A number of hours after Roquan Smith released a statement saying he requested a commerce from the Chicago Bears, he watched Tuesday’s Family Fest observe from the sideline at Soldier Field.
General supervisor Ryan Poles took within the observe simply 35 yards away from his star linebacker. But the 2 apparently stay a better distance aside relating to contract negotiations.
Smith, who has sat out all 11 coaching camp practices whereas awaiting a brand new deal, mentioned in an announcement to NFL Network on Tuesday morning that the Bears entrance workplace “doesn’t value me here,” has “refused to negotiate in good faith” and has centered on “trying to take advantage of me.” He mentioned he has been in talks with the Bears since April and the deal they proposed could be unhealthy for him and all the linebacker market.
“I wanted to be a Bear for my entire career, help this team bring a Super Bowl back to our city,” Smith’s assertion learn. “However, they have left me no choice than to request a trade that allows me to play for an organization that truly values what I bring to the table.”
In a brief, unscheduled session with reporters after observe, Poles mentioned he was upset with the place negotiations have been at and thought they’d be in a greater place given his appreciation for what Smith has executed on the sector over his first 4 NFL seasons.
Asked if he meant to commerce Smith, Poles mentioned, “Right now my intentions are to sign Roquan to this team. And we’re going to take it day by day. At the end of the day, we’ve got to do what’s best for this organization. But my intentions are to make sure Roquan Smith’s on this team.”
Poles mentioned he thought the Bears made a respectful provide to Smith that “showed value for what he is as a football player and what he can become.”
Smith, who’s working with out an agent, clearly didn’t consider that to be the case. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport cited a backloaded provide that “wouldn’t make him the highest paid (linebacker) in actual salary” and that proposed de-escalators are uncommon for contracts of this magnitude.
“I’ve always believed and always will that we take care of our homegrown talent,” Poles mentioned. “We pay them, we take care of them and we take everyone for what they’ve done and what they can become in the future. And with this situation, we’ve showed respect from a very early timeframe. And with that said, there’s record-setting pieces of this contract that I thought was going to show him the respect that he deserves, and obviously that hasn’t been the case.”
Smith, 25, is a 2018 first-round choose of former GM Ryan Pace and is enjoying on his fifth-year choice this season. He has totaled 524 tackles, 43 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks, 17 passes defended and 5 interceptions over 4 seasons.
Smith has apparent blueprints for a contract. Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard signed a five-year, $99 million deal final season, and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner’s contract was for 5 years, $95 million final yr.
But contemplating negotiations have stalled, questions stay in regards to the worth Poles locations not on Smith however on his place at weak-side linebacker and whether or not Poles needs to see how Smith performs underneath a brand new teaching employees earlier than committing that sort of cash. The Bears may use the franchise tag on Smith for 2023.
“We can’t lose sight that this isn’t about one player,” Poles mentioned. “My job is to build a roster that’s going to sustain success for a long period of time. We’ve got to do what’s best for the Chicago Bears.”
Smith, who very properly might be utilizing his assertion — printed on Twitter — as leverage, mentioned he hadn’t but spoken with the McCaskey household. He mentioned “maybe they can salvage this, but as of right now I don’t see a path back to the organization I truly love.”
Poles acknowledged he faces a “difficult” scenario in negotiating with Smith with out an agent because the intermediary.
“There are emotions involved and it’s tough,” Poles mentioned. “It’s a very unique situation that we’ve had to deal with, and I thought we’ve done a pretty good job, which again that’s why I’m a little disappointed we’re at this spot.”
Over the primary two weeks of coaching camp, Smith has staged a “hold-in,” that means he takes half in conferences, trains at Halas Hall and watches practices however doesn’t truly observe. The Bears positioned him on the bodily unable to carry out record to open camp. On Tuesday, he labored out on the sideline with injured gamers after which watched workforce durations from the sideline, at one level huddling with center linebacker Nicholas Morrow.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus mentioned he speaks with Smith virtually each day — principally about soccer and never enterprise — although Eberflus mentioned he hadn’t but talked to him Tuesday.
“Things in this business happen,” Eberflus mentioned. “There are few things that surprise you. You take it for what it is and you move forward, and that’s what you do. So I really didn’t have any reaction. I was disappointed in that, but that’s where it is right now. We’re working forward. Ryan’s going to be working forward with Roquan, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Bears offensive deal with Riley Reiff was considered one of two gamers to talk with reporters after Tuesday’s observe. He has been with the Bears for under a few weeks however has seen Smith play in opposition to him when Reiff was with the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals.
“He’s one of the best players in the NFL,” Reiff mentioned. “I’ve played against him how many years now and just what he brings, the leader, the type of guy he is in the locker room, we want him here.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com