Don’t let anyone ever tell you that football teams can’t be as close as a family. The Bears’ Roquan Smith provided a perfect example of this on the Wednesday before the 2022 NFL trade deadline.
After Chicago traded Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round pick, the star linebacker in Smith happened to be holding a standard press conference at the same time. When the news broke of Quinn’s impending departure to Philadelphia, Smith grew emotional about the news rather quickly.
In fact, he even had to cut his presser short because, in the immediate moment, he was having such a difficult time processing that Quinn was leaving:
We were speaking with Roquan Smith when the Robert Quinn trade broke. He was having a tough time and had to cut it short. pic.twitter.com/Ekd168m62S
— Sean Hammond (@sean_hammond) October 26, 2022
How touching and heartbreaking at the same time. For the Bears — who just came off easily their best win of the early Matt Eberflus era in a shellacking of the Patriots — this had to hit home for Smith. He was teammates with Quinn for the last three years, and it’s clear the two had a bond.
Football, in this instance, really is family in Chicago.
NFL fans were touched by Smith's emotion in reaction to Quinn's departure to the Eagles
Tough business. Damn. https://t.co/oVpZMGHM2T
— Your Boy Q (@YourboyQ254) October 26, 2022
It's a business. And this is the human side of it. https://t.co/e9y4FQfkL9
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) October 26, 2022
The business side of the NFL that honestly doesn’t get talked about enough. Never an easy thing to see your guy get traded. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/OijNMnDhEi
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 26, 2022
They’re real people. We forget that. https://t.co/hSuSHBr4Gf
— Greg Vorse TV (@GregVorse) October 26, 2022
This is the side of this you don't think about. These guys are human beings and these are their close friends that get traded away https://t.co/Njbvwon59j
— Andrew Schnittker (@aschnitt53) October 26, 2022
oh that is so sad :( https://t.co/yHG2blthp5
— aman (@sfgiantsap) October 26, 2022
An important reminder that professional athletes are people and have feelings. They aren't robots or mythical superheroes. https://t.co/GdMzhXmhxn
— Dana Wessel (@DanaWessel) October 26, 2022
I feel bad for him, it's a business but it's obviously tough to see a fellow teammate, one who has clearly been such a leader in that locker room get traded.
Hope he can find some time to relax and calm down from this. :( https://t.co/0wxZkI7jAt
— Adam Rosen (Cole Palmer enthusiast) (@arrosen76) October 26, 2022
This is really sad man https://t.co/X16Xk2zH6C
— Luke Sawhook 🪚🪝 (@lukesawhook) October 26, 2022
Feel bad for the guys, it’s gotta be tough to have a guy that your close with in the team one day and then gone the next. https://t.co/y5yiID1rut
— Steve Morck (@YourBoyStove) October 26, 2022
