Linebacker Roquan Smith addresses the media on Saturday at Halas Hall.
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I hope the best for you brother!!!!! 🐻⬇️. Your deserve the best.
Been watching this young man.. He is a beast and they need him; we need him. Such a good dude by being a team player high class character.. good luck BEAR DOWN brother…
High class? Throwing the team under the bus? He was all happy with pace and Nagy. Happy with losing. Now we trying to build a winning culture and he’s crying to Twitter for help. Lol he’s s business man and more power to him but let’s stop pretending he’s someyhing that he’s not
They’re gonna end up giving him what he wants or more after this year, I love the prove he’s worth it mentality he has. I already know he’s going to go crazy too lol 😆
Bears fan usually never watch other teams play. Lol Compare to Leonard he is not even close. We can’t pay every players who ask for over pay.
Good thing Poles is not Pace.
@My Left hook F Roquan.. He is a pud
I thought he handled this well. Poll the fans. We want him for the rest of his career and he wants to be a Bear the rest of his career. I’m glad to see him back on the field. Bear down folks. Waiting for months to see Roquan again so I’m stoked.
Handling it well would’ve been just getting an agent and not making a trade demand and having some mysterious person calling teams for him when he wasn’t authorized to.
We love you as a bear roquan. We’re glad that you decided to honor your contract and and we hope that you get paid next year
Did “decide” to honor the contract… he realized he doesn’t have leverage. He already did this his rookie year.
@Moe Krinkle 😂👍 and another yr with personal issue. 😣😣
@My Left hook
Signed,
Not Deshaun Watson
Words and deeds… I hear what he’s saying and hope it plays out. He deserves a fair contract and right now that’s top-3, but if he wants to be the highest paid he’ll have to play like it.
I’m convinced he’s been the best player the Bears have had, and hoped it would work out. But now it’s time to play ball and let the chips fall wherever they fall.
top 5; maybe
Multiple reports by very good insiders that the contract is more than fair!! He is blowing smoke.
@KO unfortunately I read an article that called out some poor decisions on his part as justification for the team to want insurance through the language of the contract.
They highlighted his CV19 protocol violation, some driving incidents, and his undisclosed absence in 2019. I also remember him having his digital playbook stolen from his unlocked car. His maturity, or lack thereof, is in question.
I’d like to see him succeed as a Bear, but he really needs to bet on himself off the field as well as on the field.
Although he was basically cornered with no real leverage this is the best for him. I think he proves his worth this year and gets paid in the off season. Hopefully they dont have to tag him. Definitely don’t let him go… unless you get 2 1sts.
Great kid, great player!
@CommonSense22 A nice warm body now, a 2nd next year, and maybe a 5th in 24. He’s not worth a 1st.
His value is around a second round pick. He is not under contract and he is at a low value position
@Sam Russo correction, he is under contract. That is why he’s returned to practice. He might be stubborn about what he feels is his value but he’s not stupid enough to throw away
$10 million. He’s out of contract next spring but the Bears can still franchise tag him. My prediction is some team will need him later in the season and the Bears will be out of the running for the playoffs early so he might be traded then.
The Bears will pay him when they have cap space next year.
Good job to Ryan poles for holding atrong and putting his foot down! Smith will be the highest paid LB next year with the bears, when they 100+ Mill in cap
lmao. Smith will be gone after this year. Giving him a new deal now would still go into next years cap since he still has one year left on his original deal. Cap space now has nothing to do with them not giving him a new deal.
Love watching this guy play. I hope betting in himself works out and he earns that long term deal with the Bears 🐻
Unless he takes a big step forward, I don’t see why the bears invest long term in Ro’, we have this year and two years of franchise tags if need be. By that time he’ll be 28 and no longer warrant a 5 year deal
I understand that he should be paid the way he plays, but we also need to be able to build a competitive team around him in general.
Exactly he doesn’t understand his value. A team with this many holes can’t afford to pay a LB top dollar
The rams are paying, Jaylen, Donald, Stafford, Kupp, ARob, Warner and then some. We’ve cut and traded all our big contracts, how can we not afford to pay one guy, especially when the cap is projected to go up when the new TV deals kick in. He’s not just an off ball line backer, he’s a top 3 off ball linebacker.
@ßìels every player u just named plays a more valuable position than roquan and they are not paying Wagner and arob much at all. Plus that’s a super bowl they can afford to spend every dime they have. Yea we got a lot of cap space but we also have A LOT of holes to fill too
Dat is the absolute truth
So, in no way am I saying Quan shouldn’t get his worth… I just want him to be able to have the best of both worlds, right? Financial security of course, but also the security of having a competent team around him. What good is being the highest paid at your position, if the rest of the team around you is like Swiss cheese? I don’t want players that only care about their bag and not the success of the whole team. You should be able to find a win win where you have money and the team can still afford to fill the team out around you
NEVER !!..Trade him he’s literally five great linebackers we’ve had in one player!!!. Do I need to elaborate?!
Very good interview by Ro. I really see things working out for him positively. As a man who works, I can certainly understand him wanting to be fairly compensated by the company you’re working for.
Problem is if he plays and get hurt he won’t get the contract he deserves. It’s easy to tell a guy to play until he gets hurt. That’s why players want the extension before they play the last year.
Last comment, I feel like this man is quietly seething on the inside and is gonna be an absolute menace this year. I hope that’s case. We know Roquan can play
Meh
@DarkMysteriousObject
Signed,
Aaron Rodgers
@Thomas Gena Signing a guy who held out 3 times in 4 years to a massive contract of 25M a year for a MLB position would be incredibly stupid.. He isnt Urlacher and not even Lance.. Wonder why I caved?
Signed,
Roquan Smith…
@DarkMysteriousObject Dude, he’s better than Lance, and we’re happy to have him. The Bears will take care of him, speaking of Urlacher, the Bears treated him like garbage on his way out as well….
I’m proud of him for realizing the bigger picture and deciding to come back and play from a person who is a die hard bears fan I appreciate his decision to come back without a contract says a lot and I hope we resign him and he retires a bear for life… Bear downnnnnnn
I feel the same way. This guy WANTS to stay a Bear, and I’d love for the Bears to lock him up after 2022 season for life !!! GO BEARS
He’s a true bear linebacker
He had no other option 😂. If he didn’t play this year he would still be stuck with the bears cause this year technically wouldn’t count.
I definitely side with Ryan Poles on this, but props to Roquan for presenting himself so professionally here and answering the questions in a thoughtful and measured way while still getting his point across. It’s a tough situation, hopefully he gets what he’s worth, but not more.
Poles offered him a heavily backloaded contract with de-escalators! It’s likely he wouldn’t saw the majority of that money as he would have been traded or cut. Not to mention it would have reset the linebacker deals for the worse. That’s disrespectful in essence he tried to play Ro not sure how you can side with RP on this one?
Roquan, we want you to stay, but loyal fans will understand. We appreciate all your hard work.
I’m so happy this dude is so professional. Not holding out in this situation is so different than what most do today it’s refreshing to see. I hope he balls out this year, stays healthy, and gets paid.
Have and always will loved Roquan as a player, and as a man in our community. Wish you the absolute best moving forward in whatever happens. Would absolutely love you to be here in Chicago in a Bears uni, but do what is best for you always!
I like the way he plays and his temperament. Good luck Mr. Smith.
I’m just happy that he’s back and both sides are on the same page! We already lost Khalil Mack, so the last thing we needed was an unhappy Roquan. This season is gonna be a bumpy ride, but I’m ready 😅.