The Chicago Bears' front office received quite a bit of criticism over the last couple of weeks due to the Roquan Smith situation.

Smith, the team's star linebacker, publicly requested a trade earlier this month due to a contract dispute with the front office.

The former first-round draft pick, a key leader for the Bears, returned to practice this weekend after staging a "hold-in".

Smith, who will be a free agent after the 2022 season, told reporters on Saturday that he felt like the negotiations with Chicago's front office were distasteful.

"I thought it was very distasteful, to say the least," said Smith. "Wasn't what I anticipated, nor…what I expected from the situation, but I'm grateful for the fans, all the loyal fans and everyone, the players as well in the locker room, and the city of Chicago that stood behind me throughout this process. It means a lot to myself."

"But now, I'm just shifting my focus to the season and more so just focused on being the best teammate I can be to those guys in the locker room," added Smith.

Over the last couple of weeks, various analysts and former players have called for the Bears to stop being frugal and sign Smith to a long-term deal.

Chicago's front office, however, wasn't being overly frugal or difficult with Smith.

In fact, the Bears' approach was one that numerous NFL front offices agreed with.

According to The Athletic, there wasn't much interest from other NFL teams in acquiring Smith via trade due to the type of contract he wants.

The Athletic polled various front office executives about Smith's situation. Those front office executives indicated that Chicago wasn't even calling teams around the league about trading Smith.

The executives also said that the only way they would've been interested in acquiring Smith is if Chicago would've accepted a third-round pick. They also would've preferred waiting until after the 2022 season to address Smith's contract.

From The Athletic:

Those executives added they also weren’t trying to acquire him due to the complexity of Smith’s situation.

Smith is set to earn $9.735 million this season on his fifth-year option and has publicly addressed his desire for an extension. It’s believed around the league Smith wants a contract in the neighborhood of $20 million in average annual value. Poles said Aug. 9 the Bears’ offer to Smith included “record-setting pieces of this contract.”

The rival executives polled by The Athletic were unanimous in their belief that Smith is a good player, albeit short of a great one, and none were interested in approaching the contract parameters they believed Smith coveted – on top of surrendering a draft pick in a trade.

Basically, it sounds like general manager Ryan Poles was generous in his offer to Smith. And it sounds like Poles handled this situation like most other front offices would've handed it.

In fact, it can even be suggested that Poles handled the situation perfectly since it ended with Smith returning to the team before the end of preseason action.

That's why it's a good idea to always wait on the facts before passing judgment on a tough situation.

Featured image via Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports