Chicago Bears: Three Positives of Roquan Smith’s signing
Positive Number Two: Smith still has enough time to prepare for the regular season
Perhaps the biggest concern throughout the entire ordeal was whether the dispute would end in Smith being ready for week one of the regular season, or if Smith would miss so much time that he’d start the season off the field.
Bears’ LB Roquan Smith could report to the team as early as tonight and, depending on his physical condition, could make his NFL debut Saturday night at Denver vs. the Broncos.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 13, 2018
Fortunately, it looks like Roquan will have just enough time to prepare for the regular season, and maybe even the Bears game on Saturday night.
Whether Smith plays on Saturday night is irrelevant. What matters is that in signing with around a month before Week 1, Smith will have plenty of time to practice with the Bears.
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Missing training camp isn’t good, but at least Smith will have a couple of weeks to get acclimated with his teammates in practice before Week 1. Additionally, having Smith around will help him gain valuable experience in practice, giving him the opportunity to learn from his coaches and teammates, something that he wasn’t really able to do during the holdout.
Smith was certainly given a playbook during his holdout, so we won’t have to worry about him having to learn plays and formations. However, Smith will be able to gain experience while preparing for the regular season opener.