UPDATE: Roquan Smith showed up to Thursday’s practice, but he’s not participating. Smith is hanging near injured players at the exercise bikes.
ORIGINAL STORY BELOW:
Just one day after the Chicago Bears removed Roquan Smith from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, the star linebacker seems to have gotten the message from general manager Ryan Poles.
As Thursday’s training camp practice kicked off, Smith was not spotted on the field. Smith had been watching from the sidelines so far this summer. But it certainly doesn’t appear to be a coincidence that, one day after being activated off the PUP, that Smith isn’t out there.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared that Smith doesn’t intend to practice after formally requesting a trade on Tuesday amid his contract dispute.
#Bears practice is starting. I do not see Roquan Smith out here.
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) August 11, 2022
The Bears can fine Smith $40,000 per day for missing practice. But if general manager Ryan Poles really wants to mend bridges, that doesn’t seem like a good option.
Poles reiterated his intentions to get a new deal in place with Smith, despite Smith declaring that he didn’t “see a path back to the organization.” It certainly appears to be a negotiation tactic on Smith’s part, one fans hope will pay off.
“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.”
We’ll see what happens after practice.
