{"id":52443,"date":"2022-08-22T01:54:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T01:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nfl-executives-reveal-why-roquan-smith-trade-didnt-happen\/"},"modified":"2022-08-22T01:54:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T01:54:44","slug":"nfl-executives-reveal-why-roquan-smith-trade-didnt-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nfl-executives-reveal-why-roquan-smith-trade-didnt-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Executives Reveal Why Roquan Smith Trade Didn&#8217;t Happen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Roquan Smith requested a trade two weeks ago.  He expressed displeasure at how the Chicago Bears handled his contract negotiations and wanted to go somewhere a team would pay him what he deserves.  Such a stance isn&#8217;t anything new.  Many players use the \u201ctrade me\u201d tactic in contract talks.  Smith likely hoped rookie GM Ryan Poles would cave under public pressure, either granting his request for a trade or come back with a higher offer.<\/p>\n<p>Poles did neither.  He held his ground in talks and refused to entertain the idea of \u200b\u200ba trade.  As a result, Smith was left with few options.  Either he continued his holdout into the regular season, or he returned to play out 2022 on the final year of his deal.  Since the former would&#8217;ve cost him loads of money in fines, he chose to resume practicing.  Jeff Howe of The Athletic revealed more details on how things played out.<\/p>\n<h5>He got in contact with several other league executives on the matter.<\/h5>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cExecutives from eight teams told The Athletic over the past week the Bears <strong>never reached out to shop Smith<\/strong>.  Of course, that doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean Poles didn&#8217;t quietly have conversations with other clubs, but word around the league was the Bears weren&#8217;t actively trying to move him.<\/p>\n<p>Those executives added they also weren&#8217;t trying to acquire him due to the complexity of Smith&#8217;s situation.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s believed around the league <strong>Smith wants a contract in the neighborhood of $20 million<\/strong> in average annual value.  Poles said Aug.  9 the Bears&#8217; offer to Smith included \u201crecord-setting pieces of this contract.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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 <strong>none were interested in approaching the contract parameters<\/strong> they believed Smith coveted \u2013 on top of surrendering a draft pick in a trade.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h5>This paints a clear enough picture.<\/h5>\n<p>Though a two-time second-team All-Pro, Smith isn&#8217;t viewed as a true elite linebacker around the NFL.  He has plenty of fans.  That is obvious.  However, none of them would surrender a high draft choice and $20 million per year to get him.  On the other side, Poles wasn&#8217;t going to give up a top linebacker in his prime for a 3rd round pick.  That is bad business.  His best course of action was to maintain a firm stance on a specific number.  Smith could accept it or gamble on himself having a career year in 2022. The linebacker chose door #2.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"ast-oembed-container\" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Roquan Smith on his return to practice | Chicago Bears\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/f-JYKznzOy8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Roquan Smith controls the narrative now.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>He isn&#8217;t happy.  That is obvious.  He feels cheated out of what he deserves.  Unfortunately, that is the nature of the business.  Matters became complicated when GM Ryan Pace got fired in January.  Smith&#8217;s leverage immediately lessened by not having the man who drafted him in charge.  Then he made things worse by deciding to represent himself rather than hire a professional agent.  His lack of experience and inability to not let negotiations get personal have been evident.<\/p>\n<p>His only course ahead is to play great football.  He will be 26 next year, so there is no risk of losing out on that huge payday he seeks.  The tricky part is figuring out how to do it in an unfamiliar defense.  The Bears aren&#8217;t running a 3-4 system anymore.  Matt Eberflus brought the 4-3 with him from Indianapolis.  Roquan Smith is moving from inside to outside linebacker.  Such transitions aren&#8217;t easy.<\/p>\n<h5>That is another reason he returned to practice now rather than wait.<\/h5>\n<p>He has to start mastering the position as quickly as possible.  Every second wasted could mean more dollars out of his bank account six months from now.  The Bears have maintained their stance of wanting to sign him long-term.  They&#8217;re willing to wait things out and see if Smith can keep being excellent in their system.  If he balls out, he will get his money.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"post-views-icon dashicons dashicons-chart-bar\"\/> <span class=\"post-views-label\">Post Views:<\/span> <span class=\"post-views-count\">1,801<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\nif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\nn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '773737076482910');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roquan Smith requested a trade two weeks ago. He expressed displeasure at how the Chicago Bears handled his contract negotiations and wanted to go somewhere a team would pay him what he deserves. Such a stance isn&#8217;t anything new. Many players use the \u201ctrade me\u201d tactic in contract talks. Smith likely hoped rookie GM Ryan &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/nfl-executives-reveal-why-roquan-smith-trade-didnt-happen\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">NFL Executives Reveal Why Roquan Smith Trade Didn&#8217;t Happen<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40549,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/chicago-bears-gm-ryan-poles-on-roquan-smiths-trade-request\/","url_meta":{"origin":52443,"position":0},"title":"Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles on Roquan Smith&#8217;s trade request","date":"August 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A few hours after Roquan Smith released a statement saying he requested a trade from the Chicago Bears, he watched Tuesday's Family Fest practice from the sideline at Soldier Field.General manager Ryan Poles took in the practice just 35 yards away from his star linebacker. But the two apparently remain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51635,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/chicago-bears-linebacker-returns-to-practice\/","url_meta":{"origin":52443,"position":1},"title":"Chicago Bears linebacker returns to practice","date":"August 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"For nine minutes Saturday evening, Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith met with reporters inside the PNC Center at Halas Hall, trying to neatly summarize what have been a messy few months.On the plus side for Bears fans, Smith's contentious contract battle with the front office has ended \u2014 for now\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51553,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/roquan-smith-negotiations-are-over-i-am-going-to-bet-on-myself\/","url_meta":{"origin":52443,"position":2},"title":"Roquan Smith: Negotiations are over;  I am going to bet on myself","date":"August 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Getty Images Bears linebacker Roquan Smith returned to practice Saturday, participating in part for the first time since his \u201chold-in.\u201d He has agreed to play out his contract before hitting free agency in March.Smith, who is guaranteed $9.7 million this season on his fifth-year option, wanted a long-term deal. When\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"SPORTS-FBN-BEARS-CAMP-TB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1242427162-1-e1661036601921.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":41293,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/team-most-likely-to-trade-for-roquan-smith-has-been-revealed\/","url_meta":{"origin":52443,"position":3},"title":"Team Most Likely To Trade For Roquan Smith Has Been Revealed","date":"August 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Roquan Smith is growing impatient. He wants his new contract and to be the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. So he decided to crack up the pressure on Tuesday when he formally requested a trade from the Chicago Bears to another team that would \u201cvalue\u201d his services better. It was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43478,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/someone-is-calling-teams-on-behalf-of-roquan-smith-to-solicit-trade-interest\/","url_meta":{"origin":52443,"position":4},"title":"Someone is calling teams on behalf of Roquan Smith to solicit trade interest","date":"August 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \r \r Getty Images An awkward situation between the Bears and linebacker Roquan Smith could soon be getting even more awkward.Per a league source, a person purporting to represent Smith has been calling other teams in order to gauge potential trade interest.It's a problem for two reasons. First, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"SPORTS-FBN-BEARS-CAMP-TB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1242427162-e1660324661721.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":46584,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/how-the-bears-unresolved-contract-situation-with-roquan-smith-just-got-more-complicated\/","url_meta":{"origin":52443,"position":5},"title":"How the Bears&#8217; unresolved contract situation with Roquan Smith just got more complicated","date":"August 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In the latest development in a simmering impasse between the Chicago Bears and Pro Bowl linebacker Roquan Smith, the situation just got worse and more complicated. That's in the wake of the NFL Management Council sending a memo to all teams alleging that an individual not licensed as an agent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Fantasy Football Draft Kit Splash Name","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.profootballnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Draft-Kit-Dont-be-a-Loser-Web_-desktop_-780-x-200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3n7e3u2.stackpathcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Roquan-Smith-5.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}