NFL.com says Bears star player 'deserves a raise'
Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith has played like a star from the moment he entered the NFL. Smith was selected with the 8th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and has been the heart and soul of the Bears defense ever since. Smith has led the Bears in tackles in […]
Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith has played like a star from the moment he entered the NFL. Smith was selected with the 8th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and has been the heart and soul of the Bears defense ever since.
Smith has led the Bears in tackles in every year of his career, and recently posted a career-high 163 tackles in a season for 2021. He has also been responsible for five interceptions and 14 sacks over his four NFL seasons.
Despite his lofty numbers, Smith has often been disrespected at the national level. He has been selected for the All-Pro second team twice, but somehow never appeared in the Pro-Bowl.
As Smith enters the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, his future in Chicago has become a topic of discussion. The good news? All signs point to Smith wanting to stay in the windy city:
Hearing Roquan be open to staying long-term is music to the ears of Bears fans. If the Bears are serious about winning with Justin Fields and building a championship caliber club around him, that starts with securing a strong defense. It starts with extending Roquan Smith, and there’s no doubt he’s deserving.
A recent article from Jim Trotter of NFL.com named a handful of NFL players most deserving of a raise (aka contract extension). It’s not surprising that Smith made the list, with Trotter citing his production, leadership, and the industry standard as reasons he should get paid:
“Smith has a common surname and an uncommon game. Over his first four NFL campaigns, the Georgia product started 59 games, averaged 131 tackles per season and earned second-team All-Pro honors in each of the last two years. It speaks volumes that teammate Robert Quinn could rank second in the league with 18.5 sacks last season, yet Smith is still viewed as the leader — the heart and soul — of the defense. He is scheduled to play on the fifth-year option at $9.735 million this year, which is a bargain for a player of his ability, particularly if his game blossoms as expected under new coach Matt Eberflus. As the Colts' defensive coordinator, Eberflus helped linebacker Darius Leonard earn an extension worth nearly $100 million.”
Darius Leonard isn’t the only inside linebacker to get paid recently. A year ago, the 49ers gave Fred Warner a five-year contract worth $95 Million, which made him the highest paid inside linebacker in the history of football. That record was broken just a month later by Leonard.
That’s the type of money Smith deserves from the Bears. That’s “we believe in you and want to build around you” money. Smith’s production has been comparable to both Leonard in Warner in recent years, and coming off of his career-best season, there’s no reason to think he’d slow down anytime soon.
Trotter has a point. Despite Robert Quinn breaking the Bears all-time single-season sack record, Roquan Smith was still considered to be the leader and the “best player” on the defense. Anyone who watches the games can see how impactful of a player he is:
It’ really quite simple. Roquan Smith deserves to be paid like an elite linebacker in the NFL. More importantly, he needs to stay in Chicago. The Bears have the money to pay him, with even more money coming off the books at the end of this season, and if the new regime is serious about winning, that starts by locking up your defensive anchor for the foreseeable future.
Get it done, get him paid. No excuses.
Image via Quinn Harris – USA Today Sports
