OK, catch up mode again. This time I have a good excuse. Yep, first visit for my son to Disneyworld; we’ll get to all of that. We went to the happiest place on earth, yet, the first piece of information I read upon landing in Orlando on Tuesday morning was not so happy…
What are the Bears doing with Roquan Smith? Seeing that he requested a trade as we taxied to the gate in Orlando, was not exactly the start to the vacation I was hoping for. Here I thought we had the next great Bears MLB. Bill George, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, Brian Urlacher, and now, Roquan Smith… right? Well, I hoped that was the case; I still do. If so, then the Bears should pay the man his money. Why do we always have to jerk around our best players?
Without Roquan in the middle of this defense, I might as well rip up my “Bears over 6.5 wins” ticket I got in Vegas in June. Some folks think it was dead money to begin with. But man… Roquan is the heart of the defense, vastly underrated in my opinion. For those of us who see him week in week out, we know what he brings to the table; he doesn’t seem to get that same recognition across the league. But now, with Eberflus coming in, working with a very talented LB from his last team, it feels like Roquan could just take off. Is he as good as Leonard? From what I’ve seen from that dude, he’s a beast as well. Roquan is right there too.
As I read more on social media, people are talking about some “off the field” stuff with Roquan, like hanging out with porn stars, crashing his car, etc, implying maybe there is another reason the Bears aren’t signing him… maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Then you got people saying “why did Roquan come out publicly against the Bears like that”… like it’s his fault for calling them out, like it’s his fault they’re being cheap. I don’t know Roquan personally; I don’t need to. I see what he brings every Sunday for our defense, and that’s enough for me. We’re still in the mode, or at least I am, of giving Poles the benefit of the doubt; let’s see how he does. Trading Mack was pretty ballsy, not a move I agreed with btw. Letting Roquan walk and/or trading him… doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. One of the best LBs in the NFL at 25 years old, with arguably the best football in front of him… I know he’s still under contract, but I think it would be cheaper to sign him now then try to do so after the season. Will Roquan even play this year if he doesn’t have a new deal? Who knows…
I’m really counting on the Bears to have a good season; maybe it’s wishful thinking… but if Roquan is not on that field… well, I guess there’s only one other guy that I’d want to be on the team more than him. It truly would be all in on Fields, and although I have faith in him, he certainly can’t do it all alone; a good defense would certainly help him. Let’s get this new deal done and lock up 58. Bear Down!
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