NFL
By: Kristy Love
Back early August of 2022 linebacker Roquan Smith had took his frustrations to Instagram where he wrote a farewell letter to the city of Chicago and the Bears fans around the world. Smith stated this will be his last season with the organization due to the fact they both could not come up with a number that was fair to both parties. Smith also stated in his farewell letter that he feels undervalued, unappreciated and feels taking advantage of. Well, the Bears didn’t waste anytime to grant the 2 time pro bowler wishes of being traded.
The Chicago Bears trade 2 time pro bowl Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2nd and 5th round draft pick in the 2023 NFL. Just a few days prior, the Bears traded Edge Rusher Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles fora 4th round draft pick. When Smith got the notification Quinn got traded, he was in the middle of a press conference and broke down in tears. Later, Smith had cut his press conference short.
This year with the Bears, Roquan Smith has 82 tackles (4 tackles for losses), 2.5 sacks, 3 QB hits, 3 passes defended along with 2 interceptions. Smith has a total of 163 tackles in is 5th season with the Bears.
More about the trade
The Chicago Bears in return are getting Linebacker A.J klein who played in 136 games in his career. He is 31 years old and played for the Panthers, Saints, Bills, and the Ravens. Klein played in 2 games with only 1 start. The Ravens are also taking up all of Smith remaining 2022 salary. It’s unclear at this time if the Ravens will sign Roquan Smith long term or just for the remainder of this season.
Draft picks
The Chicago Bears now will have 9 draft pick selections in this 2023 draft. 1st, 2nd 2nd (Ravens), 4th 4th (Eagles) 5th 5th (Ravens) and 7th. The Bears have over $1 million dollars in cap space this up coming offseason, which is the most in the league.
The offseason for the Bears will most likely be more exciting to watch than the current season. This will show how good Ryan Poles will be with getting players to build around 2 year QB Justin Fields. Here are a few players on offense they should consider looking at. RBs Kareem Hunt and Josh Jacobs. TE O.J. Howard and Mike Gesicki. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster Offensive Linemen Quinten Nelson and Erik McCoy.
From a defense perspective, the bears should look at Marcus Davenport, Yannick Ngakoue, Termaine Edmunds , Devon Bush, and Leighton Vander Esch.
This year draft offers a lot as well with the many picks we have available. After an impressive showing this weekend against Penn State, JT Tuimoloau is building his draft stock as an edge rusher. Other prospects like Jalen Carter from Georgia, or Florida State’s Jared Verse would also would be great pick ups for the Bears defense.
Roquan has wanted out of Chicago for some time now and it was best to get something in return than letting him go for nothing. While the trade of Roquan Smith signals an end of an era, Poles has set up the Bears to have a bright future. With the trade deadline is less than 24 hours away, the bears have made aggressive moves thus far, and it is possible they may have one more in them.
The Chicago Bears are finally back home this Sunday at Solider Field. Their next matchup is against the Miami Dolphins. Kickoff is at 12 noon. Catch the game on Fox Sports.
Follow me on Twitter @IamKristyLove
