Roquan Smith Requests Trade from the Bears

>>> WITH THE LIST OF POPULAR THINGS TO DO, THAT IS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO SEE. ANNIE TWEETED A STATEMENT OUT SAYING ESSENTIALLY HE WAS A HOMEGROWN BEAR AND PROUD TO BE IN THE TOP 10 AS A DRAFT PICK. HE IS PLAYING THE LAST YEAR OF HIS ROOKIE DEAL AND, HE HAS NOT ACCOMPLISHED THE DEAL HE WANTED TO GET TO. HE DOES NOT HAVE AND AGENT AND REPRESENTS HIMSELF AND AS REQUESTED A TRADE AWAY FROM THE BEARS. HE HAS MISSED 10 DAYS OF TEAM PRACTICES FOR THE CHICAGO BEARS AND HE WANTS TO BE OUT OF

CHICAGO. >> THERE IS DEFINITELY LOST TRUST FOR SMITH WITH WHAT HE HAS DONE ON THE FIELD. THE DEAL ACTUALLY LOWERED THE VALUE OF LINEBACKERS ACROSS THE LEAGUE. HE BELIEVES HE HAS A DUTY TO SAID THE BAR HERE SO THAT THEY CAN SET THE BAR FOR THE GROUP. >> LIKE YOU SAID, JAMIE, HE REPRESENTS HIMSELF . WHETHER IT IS BOBBY RAG WAGNER OR RICHARD CIRQUE SHERMAN IN THE PAST. THIS IS NOW ROQUAN SMITH VERSUS THE BEARS VERSUS SOMEBODY ELSE AGAINST THE BEARS. IT MAY BE THE FAN BASE, OR WHATEVER IT IS, KYLE, YOU ARE THERE IN

CHICAGO LAST SATURDAY. I GET THE VIBE FROM THE BEARS’ BUILDING THAT IT ISN’T BREAKING THE BANK ON ROQUAN AND GIVING HIM EVERYTHING HE WANTS. IT MAY BE LET’S MAKE A DEAL THAT

MAKES SENSE TO US. >> I THINK THE FANS ARE SQUARELY ON ROQUAN’S SIDE . I DON’T THINK THE 2nd BEST PLAYER IS CLOSE . WE HAVE THIS THING GOING ON WHERE I KNOW YOU WANT WIDE RECEIVER, LET’S DO IT. NOW WE HAVE THE BEST PLAYER ON THE TEAM WHO WANTS TO BE PAID FAIRLY AND WE ARE NOT DOING IT. I ASKED A COUPLE OF

PEOPLE AND I WAS LIKE HEY, WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH ROQUAN ? THEY SAID, HE HAS HERE AND IN ALL THE MEETINGS AND PARTICIPATING BUT NOT ON THE FIELD. I ACTUALLY WOULD LIKE TO HEAR WITH THE BEARS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS MORE COMPLICATED THAN THE HEADLINES. IF THEY DON’T GIVE HIM THE DEAL AND THEY TRADE HIM, I DON’T LIKE THE MESSAGE TO HIM OR TO THE ORGANIZATION AND THE LOCKER ROOM. THIS IS WHAT YOU DREAM ABOUT. HE IS HANDPICKED AND HOMEGROWN AND JUST WANTS TO BE PAID MARKET VALUE AND WE ARE

NOT GOING TO DO IT. IT IS TOUGH. I WOULD PICK THIS ONE. HE’S A GREAT PLAYER THAT SAYS AND DOES ALL THE RIGHT THINGS. I KNOW YOU DON’T WANT TO PAY ANYBODY, BUT THIS IS THE GUY YOU PAY. I AM SAD RIGHT NOW AND I DON’T LIKE THIS. >> DO YOU THINK IT CHANGES THE FACT THAT THE GM DID NOT DRAFT HIM? >> HE IS ONE OF THE BEST DRAFT PICKS. OUT OF THE PLAYERS, THIS IS THE BEST ONE. >> THIS MIGHT BE THE 1st TIME THEY ARE BEING PUT INTO IT. >> HE HAS A

STEADY HAND AND SAYS WE HAVE A GOOD PLAN AND THIS COULD TAKE YEARS. >> IT FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE FOR A LOT OF REASONS. IT’S ALSO EARLY AUGUST. I THINK BACK TO THE FLASHY TRADE REQUEST WITH DEEBO SAMUEL’S THAT CAME OUT AND THEN WENT AWAY AND THEN THERE WAS A HAPPY MARRIAGE WITH DEEBO SAMUEL . THE TWEET SAYING THAT THE BEARS HAVE REFUSED TO NEGOTIATE IN GOOD FAITH IN EVERY STEP OF THE JOURNEY HAS BEEN A TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT SITUATION. HE IS TRYING TO GET A GOOD DEAL AND SAYS THE BEARS ARE TRYING TO TAKE

ADVANTAGE OF ME. THOSE ARE POWERFUL WORDS TO BE SAID BY THE PLAYER WHO IS BEST ON YOUR TEAM. >> TO YOUR POINT, WHEN YOU ARE THE ONE NEGOTIATING, THERE IS STUFF THAT SOMETIMES COULD BE FILTERED. WHEN I WAS NEGOTIATING, I WOULD SAY TO THE AGENT, JUST GET ME THE NUMBERS. THE DIFFERENCE IS WHEN YOU ARE ONE OF THE BEST AT YOUR POSITION IN THE LEAGUE, IT MAKES IT EASY TO NEGOTIATE THE DEAL. THE NUMBERS ARE WHAT THEY ARE. YOU SET THE MARKET AND YOU DON’T COME IN AND SAY THESE LINEBACKERS ARE HERE AND MOSTLY GOT

THIS AND SHAKEEL GOT THIS IN INDIANAPOLIS. >> AND WARNER. >> YOU KNOW WHAT, PUT ME AT NUMBER 10 AND I WILL BE OKAY BECAUSE IT WILL HELP THE TEAM. >> HE IS FRUSTRATED BECAUSE HE WAS ON ALL PRO LAST YEAR AND HE PLAYED HIS BUTT OFF ON A BAD TEAM AND TRYING TO BE A LEADER AND DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY. LIKE YOU SAID, YOU HEAR FROM ROQUAN. HE SHOWS UP AND IS THERE AND IN MEETINGS AND PROBABLY CONTINUING TO BE A LEADER. ALL HE IS ASKING YOU TO DO IS NEGOTIATE. NOT BRING THE NFL

DOWN BY MY DEAL AS I’M SIGNING MY 2nd CONTRACT . >> THIS IS NOT A LAST-DITCH, BUT WITH THESE KINDS OF DEALS, I WANTED BE WILBUR MARSHALL WHEN I GOT INTO THIS BUILDING. THOSE ARE THE FRUSTRATIONS. PLUS TRUST THE ATTEMPT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE. THAT IS IN EMOTIONAL THING TO SAY. THERE HAS NOT BEEN NEGOTIATION AND THE BEARS TRYING TO STRONG-ARM HIM IN A TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT DEAL. AND HE WENT INTO DEPTH ON HIS TWITTER FEED, BUT THIS BECOMES EMOTIONAL. AGAIN, I’M ALL FOR THE PLAYER BEING THEIR OWN AGENT AND SAYING EVEN IF THERE

WAS A NATION, I WOULD FEEL THE SAME WAY. BUT, THIS FEELS LIKE IT IS PERSONAL NOW AND SOMETIMES WHEN THE TOOTHPASTE IS OUT OF THE TUBE, IT’S HARD TO PUT IT BACK IN. >> LEAVE DEAL WITH A TEAM LIKE THE CHICAGO BEARS, SOMETIMES YOU NEED A MARQUEE PLAYER TO BUILD YOUR HOUSE UPON AND ROQUAN SMITH COULD BE THAT GUY . YOU NEED A NUCLEUS. IT’S NOT A 4TH-ROUND. THAT JUST TURNED INTO A NEXT LET LINEBACKER , THIS HAS BEEN WALLPAPER FROM THE BEGINNING FOR HIM. HE HAS PLAYED OUT THE WAY HE WAS EXPECTED TO AS

A TOP 10 PICK . REGARDLESS OF THE GM OR THE COACHES, OR ANYBODY, HE IS THE STAR OF THE TEAM HE IS ON, SO WHY WOULD YOU NOT KEEP HIM TO BE ON THE TEAM HE IS ON? >> I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE CHICAGO BEARS HAVE NOT HAD THE NUMBER ONE OVERALL PICK IN THE NFL SINCE 1941. YOU WATCH THEM GET RID OF KHALIL MACK, ROBINSON AND NOW ROQUAN SMITH . >> THEY HAVE HAD ROQUAN SMITH FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS . THEY MAY SAY WE ARE ONE OF THE WORST TEAMS AND FOOT TALL.

WE LIKE YOU AS A PLAYER, BUT CONSIDER — >> YOU BUILD A CULTURE OF LOSING . >> THEY DID IT FOR YEARS. THE INTENT WAS TO START OVER AND MATCH DRAFT PICKS AND DRAFT CAPITAL AND GET MONEY, WE REALLY WANT TO GO FOR IT. THEY HAVE NOT DONE IT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BUILD A WINNING CULTURE FROM ALMOST THE BASEMENT. AND YOU SAID HE WAS ONE NUMBER 53 ON THE ROSTER. TO PLAY AT THAT LEVEL AND STILL NOT HER CO