Bears linebacker Roquan Smith formally requested a trade on Tuesday morning, which put his future in Chicago in question.
New Bears general manager Ryan Poles took a moment to address the situation with the media following Tuesday’s Family Fest practice at Soldier Field, where Smith was an observer. Poles expressed his disappointment about where contract negotiations have gone.
“I’ll double down on what I’ve said before: my feelings for Roquan haven’t changed at all,” Poles said. “I think he’s a very good football player. I love the kid. I love what he’s done on the field, which makes me really disappointed with where we’re at right now.”
In a detailed message shared by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Smith said he lost trust in the organization in their attempts to take advantage of him during contract negotiations. He also feels like it hasn’t been so much as a negotiation rather than them pressuring him with a “take it or leave it” deal.
Smith has been trying to get a “fair” deal done since April, but he’s at the point where he feels “the new front office regime doesn’t value me,” which led to his trade request.
“There are record-setting pieces for this contract that I thought would show him the respect that he deserves, and obviously that hasn’t been the case,” Poles said. “…We’re doing everything we can to get this done.”
Just because Smith requested a trade doesn’t mean he couldn’t ultimately wind up re-signing in Chicago. And that’s the plan, according to Poles.
“Right now, my intentions are to make sure Roquan is on this team,” Poles said. “At the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for the team.”
Following practice, head coach Matt Eberflus was asked about his reaction to Smith’s trade request.
“Things in this business happen,” Eberflus said. “…I really didn’t have any reaction. I was disappointed in that. We’re working forward. Ryan is working on it. We’ll see where it goes.”
