Following their dominant preseason win, the Bears received good news as All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith returned to practice Saturday. Smith joined teammates for a non-contact workout in the Walter Payton Center.
“We were super excited about that with him,” said head coach Matt Eberflus. “He’s ramping up to get ready to go.”
Per Eberflus, Smith participated is in a ramp up period, where he participated only in individual drills.
The star linebacker is in the final year of his rookie contract and looking for a long-term extension. It’s been rumored that he wants to be the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. However, despite participating in the entire offseason program, he opened training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
Despite coming off the PUP list on Aug. 10, Smith hadn’t practiced until today. Throughout the ongoing contract negotiations, Roquan has felt the Bears didn’t value him and weren’t negotiating in good faith. As a result, he requested a trade on Aug. 9.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Smith plans to play out his rookie contract, which runs through 2022.
#Bears star LB Roquan Smith, who returned to practice for the first time after an emotional and intense contract situation, now plans to play out his contract, I’m told. His deal runs through 2022.
He’ll be full go moving forward.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 20, 2022
Last year, Smith recorded a career-high 163 tackles with 12 tackles for loss, three sacks, and one interception that he returned for a touchdown. He has compiled at least 100 tackles in his four seasons, the first Bears player to accomplish that in four years since Lance Briggs during the 2004-2009 seasons.
Hopefully, this is a sign of a future deal between Roquan and the Bears front office. Ryan Poles has made it clear that he values Smith and wants to keep the homegrown talent on the Bears.
