Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith’s trade request is not a death sentence

Going into their first season in leadership with the Chicago Bears, Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus have had some speed bumps already.

But, aside from any of those speed bumps that have come along to this point, their biggest challenge has now been established.

All Pro linebacker Roquan Smith is in need of a contract extension, and while many have believed that it’s going to get done, a new twist has now surfaced which could change everything.

Smith has officially requested a trade out of Chicago, putting pain back into the hearts of fans everywhere.

Smith’s publicly-written note comes as a huge shock to Bears fans. It’s painful to read and to try and accept. But, we may not have to accept it just yet, as Smith did leave the door open for a return to Chicago.

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to the McCaskey family, and maybe they can salvage this…”

The key phrase, out of the entire letter written by Smith, was the above one where he mentioned that the McCaskey family has an opportunity to salvage this situation.

That means one thing and one thing only: it’s in the court of George McCaskey.

Yikes.

For an ownership group that has all but admitted to not knowing what they’re doing, this is a scary proposition. To think that Smith’s future now depends on a potential conversation between he and George McCaskey is quite frightening.

But, maybe a separate conversation needs to happen first.

McCaskey has to sit down with Ryan Poles and hammer out some of the details that made this look like a bad deal overall.

The biggest issue Smith (and any linebacker in this league) should have with the deal is the fact that it included de-escalators; meaning, if Smith’s performance would dip, he would lose out on money.

At surface level, it makes sense logically. But, it’s a straight-up insult to an All Pro linebacker. A team pays a guy of this caliber because he’s proved it. He’s established himself. The team trusts him to continue playing at this level for the foreseeable future.

Including language that involves de-escalators is just plain disrespectful to Smith and the work he’s put in with the Bears.

Look, it’s clear that he loves Chicago and respects the history here. He holds a reverence in his heart for the Bears organization and their rich linebacker history.

This is a guy you have to pay, period. So, with a door left cracked open for a conversation that could change all of it, now fans wait to see what happens between the two sides in the coming days.