Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy discusses Roquan Smith’s personal reasons

Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy was asked questions regarding Roquan Smith’s last-minute personal reasons that kept him out of the Week 4 matchup against the Vikings. His response was rather illuminating.

The Chicago Bears fought hard against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. The game was a defensive battle that finished in a 16-6 victory for the Bears. Many developments occurred leading up to the game. First, Akiem Hicks, Taylor Gabriel and Kyle Long were all ruled out due to injuries. Then, last minute, Roquan Smith was declared inactive for personal reasons.

The media did their due diligence in asking Matt Nagy about the status of Smith and the reasons behind why he was inactive. Nagy doubled, tripled and quadrupled down on the fact Smith was dealing with some personal issues and he would not speak further on the matter. Nagy also would not commit to answering if Smith will join the team in London.

Alright, so Nagy hardly discussed anything regarding Roquan Smith’s personal reasons for missing the game on Sunday. His response was the complete opposite of shedding any light on the subject. To make matters worse for Smith, rumors have been swirling all over social media.

There is a photo circulating of a Ferrari that crashed into a parked car. The Ferrari is totaled and rumors spread that the car belonged to Roquan Smith. Adam Schefter reported on ESPN1000 that the car in the photo did not belong to Smith. Some people saying that does not mean anything and Smith could have been driving someone else’s car. Those people are wrong again.

Rich Campbell reported on 670 the Score that he saw a copy of the police report involving that vehicle and Roquan Smith was not involved at all. Why then did Roquan Smith sit on the sidelines on Sunday instead of play against their divisional rival? Well, Adam Schefter is also reporting that Smith was not acting like himself over the last few days.

From a football perspective, his absence this week could lead to much bigger problems for the Bears. Nick Kwiatkoski played one hell of a game in Smith’s absence. He finished with eight solo tackles, one assist, two tackles were for a loss and one was a sack. He also forced a fumble. The problem though is his ability to play in pass coverage. It always has been.

The Vikings passing game is nothing to be afraid of and the matchup was perfect for Kwiatkoski. The matchup against Oakland is not the same. Although the Raiders are not producing much more than the Vikings through the air, Derek Carr has been utilizing his tight end successfully. This could cause a mismatch problem.

Darren Waller has been averaging eight catches for 80 yards per game through the first four weeks. Roquan Smith has the speed to keep up with a guy like Waller. Kwiatkowski lacks in this area. Chuck Pagano will have to scheme things differently and use the safeties overtop or use their nickel CBs to help in coverage.

Luckily, the defensive backs are one of the best units in the NFL and the Bears should be able to overcome any weaknesses they might have with Kwiatkowski manning the middle. Oakland feels somewhat like a trap game, but I think the Bears can overcome that too.

Whatever is going on with Roquan Smith, hopefully, he and the Bears figure something out after the bye week in order to face the New Orleans Saints. Even without Drew Brees, that team has some offensive playmakers.