The Chicago Bears agreed to trade linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer reported.
Roquan Smith : Trade | To ravens | Ravens trade for
In early August 2022, Smith announced that while he tried to negotiate a contract extension during the offseason, he has requested the Bears trade him stating the reason being the “new front office regime doesn’t value me here.”
Smith did report to Bears’ training camp, but refused to practice.
On August 20, Smith ended his hold out from practices and stated he would no longer continue negotiating with the Bears‘ front office for the remainder of the 2022 season.
On September 25, Smith recorded 16 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and an interception, during a 23-20 win over the Houston Texans.
Trade
Linebacker Roquan Smith was emotional about the Bears’ decision to trade Robert Quinn last week and he’s now on his way to a new team.
According to multiple reports, the Ravens have agreed to acquire Smith in a trade. The Bears will add 2023 second- and fifth-round picks to the fourth-round selection they got in the Quinn deal.
Smith requested a trade this offseason and sat out of practices at training camp before ultimately agreeing to play out the final year of his rookie contract in Chicago. He has started every game for the Bears and has 83 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two interceptions on the year.
Smith will join Patrick Queen, Josh Bynes, A.J. Klein, Malik Harrison, Del’Shawn Phillips, and Kristian Welch at linebacker in Baltimore.
Roquan Smith to ravens
Roquan Smith is no longer the face of the Chicago Bears defense.
Chicago traded the linebacker to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday for linebacker A.J. Klein and second- and fifth-round picks.
The Bears will also pay $4.833 million of Smith’s $5.408 million salary, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The 2022 season was set to be the final one on Smith’s contract before free agency, and there was plenty of uncertainty about his status.
In July, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com noted the Georgia product would not report to the start of training camp because of his contract situation.
“Smith has not yet received an offer he would remotely consider, thus he’ll wait,” Rapoport wrote.
Then Smith wrote a statement in August requesting a trade: “Unfortunately, the new front office regime doesn’t value me here. They’ve refused to negotiate in good faith, every step of this journey has been ‘take it or leave it.’ The deal sent to me is one that would be bad for myself, and for the entire LB market if I signed it.”
Ravens trade for Roquan Smith
The Bears’ teardown continued on Monday afternoon with a deal sending star linebacker Roquan Smith to the Ravens, according to multiple reports.
Smith was Chicago’s top defensive player and is due a long-term contract after the 25-year-old and the Bears could not agree on an extension this offseason.
The Bears got back second- and fifth-round selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, ESPN.com reported. Fox Sports was the first to report news of the trade.
The Bears traded pass rusher Robert Quinn to the Eagles last week for a fourth-round pick. Smith was talking to the media when Quinn’s trade went through and got emotional before calling the press conference short.
Smith was a hold-in for much of the Bears’ training camp as he and first-year GM Ryan Poles negotiated a new deal. The talks turned ugly and Smith, who was representing himself, released a scathing statement on the team.
“The deal sent to me is one that would be bad for myself, and for the entire LB market if I signed it,” Smith wrote on Aug. 11. “I’ve been trying to get something done that’s fair since April, but their focus has been taking advantage of me.”
According to The Athletic, Smith — an off-ball linebacker — played every down on defense this season for the 3-5 Bears. Smith has 83 tackles, 2 ½ sacks and two interceptions. He was fifth in the NFL last season with 163 overall tackles.
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