5 Chicago Bears that have failed through the first quarter of the season

All things considered, Roquan Smith’s 2022 season has been a failure so far

Before the season, linebacker Roquan Smith decided he was going to bet on himself. After rejecting a long-term extension from the Bears, Smith moved forward under the assumption that this offer was a slap in his face due to de-escalators.

Well, four weeks into the season and he might have been pacing for some of those de-escalators. His play has been so up and down through the first four games that it’s hard to know which guy the Bears are going to get each week.

That prime time game against Green Bay was a bad game for a lot of players and coaches, but Smith was maybe the worst player on the field (aside from who we’ll talk about next). His motor was running half speed, he took bad angles and missed tackles. It was arguably the worst performance he has had in the NFL to date.

So far, Pro Football Focus has given Smith a grade of 48.1, which doesn’t even put him inside the top 100 linebackers in the NFL. He has been the definition of sporadic. He’s missing nearly 10 percent of his tackles. He’s been horrible against the run. And, at least over his first two games, Smith was abysmal in coverage.

If he’s attempting to make a big pay day next spring, Smith is off to a pretty disgusting start. In short, he should’ve taken that deal.