The Chicago Bears and linebacker Roquan Smith appear far from reaching an agreement on a contract extension. Smith has been deadlocked in contract negotiations since April, but he hasn’t been happy with the offer he received.
Earlier this week, Smith requested a trade citing he doesn’t feel valued by the new front office. Smith said he lost trust in the organization in their attempts to take advantage of him during contract negotiations.
Smith started training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but he was removed from the list shortly after the trade request. Now, as Smith sits out practice, he’s subject to a $40,000 fine for each practice he misses.
Now, things appear to be getting even more awkward.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, “a person purporting to represent Smith has been calling other teams in order to gauge potential trade interest.”
As Smith has previously shared, he does not have an agent and has been representing himself. So the fact someone’s calling on behalf of Smith and the Bears haven’t granted him permission to seek a trade could have some serious ramifications.
It’s a problem for two reasons. First, the person isn’t an NFLPA-certified agent. He can’t represent Smith or any other player. Second, Smith has not received permission to seek a trade.
Basically, the person is setting up a potential tampering trap for any team that either engages in conversations regarding Smith or fails to promptly notify the Bears of the impermissible contact.
General manager Ryan Poles expressed his intention to re-sign Smith — although he’ll ultimately do what’s best for the team.
“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.”
