NEWSLETTER
The first domino fell early on Saturday with breaking news of Roquan Smith returning to practice with his Bears teammates.
But there will be others that follow.
For instance, this report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport saying Smith plans on playing out his contract with the Bears:
And in meeting with the media, Smith essentially confirms Rap’s report:
Let’s briefly dig into this stuff while we have a moment.
Firstly, that Smith plans to play out his contract. That’s good news. I mean, who doesn’t want to see Smith chase ball carries and cause havoc in a Bears uni this season? Smith, 25, will play on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal that will pay him $9.735 million. Not a bad chunk of change, especially since it is fully guaranteed (even if it isn’t in the ballpark of what Smith seeks in an extension).
Secondly, we shouldn’t let verbiage from Smith or Rapoport throw us for a loop. Just because Smith is set to play out this final contract year doesn’t mean 2022 is the last time you’ll see him in a Bears uniform. Should Smith and the team not come to an agreement on an extension before or during the season, they still have until March 7, 2023 to hash out a deal. The March 7 date isn important one to keep in mind. That is because it is the final date in which the Bears can give Smith a Franchise or Transition Tag designation. Tagging season begins on Feb. 21, 2023, in case you want to mark your calendars early. Also? This feels like a good time to point out that the Franchise Tag price for linebackers in 2023 projects to be $18.291 million, per OverTheCap.com’s forecasting.
In other words, that $18 million is the number where negotiations figure to begin for Smith and the Bears.
For now, the most important thing is that Smith is back on the practice field with his teammates. The linebackers room felt empty without him. And that’s before a player such as Matt Adams left Thursday’s preseason game with an injury. We’ll continue following Smith’s contract arc as it develops, because I can’t imagine it ends here just because he made himself available to practice for the first time since camp opened.
