Star Linebacker Roquan Smith Requests Trade from Bears

Big news out of Chicago dropped early this morning, Tuesday, August 9th, when star linebacker Roquan Smith went public with his trade request from the Bears.

The source? Smith himself! He came out with a statement this morning with his trade request and logic behind it.

Smith, who has been on the Bears the past four years and twice been voted second team All-Pro, called out the Bears front office in his statement.

He stated that the Bears “refused to negotiate in good faith” and the deal they sent him “would be bad for the entire LB market” if he signed it.

He also went on to say that every step of these contract negotiations with the Bears were “take it or leave it.” They have been trying to get a deal done since April, but Smith feels as though they were trying to take advantage of him.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. Smith is young and an extremely talented player, but the Bears are nowhere near contention as they currently stand.

So, there is some logic in them getting a haul for Smith while they try to rebuild their roster under the new regime and young quarterback Justin Fields.