LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Despite Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith and edge rusher Robert Quinn reporting with veterans to Halas Hall on Tuesday, questions remain about both star defenders.
Smith enters his fifth NFL season while awaiting a contract extension. Since the Bears drafted him eighth overall in 2018, the former Georgia standout has recorded 101 tackles and one or more interceptions each season while also totaling 14 sacks.
In April, Smith expressed confidence he would remain in Chicago with a new deal, and he was a full participant during voluntary workouts and mandatory minicamp.
Without a new contract, the linebacker -- who is set to earn $9.7 million on the final year of his rookie deal -- is not expected to participate in camp practices until he and the team come to a resolution. It's believed Smith doesn't have an agent.
On Sunday, the Bears released their alternate orange jerseys and helmets that will be worn for games against Washington and Dallas. Smith was the player used to model the Bears’ new uniform. The linebacker later took to his Instagram, posting those promotional photos with this caption: “When The Smoke Clears 58 Gone Be There!!”
In the spring, Chicago’s first-year GM Ryan Poles expressed a desire to reach an agreement on an extension for Smith before the start of the regular season.
“My feelings for Roquan don't change at all,” Poles said Tuesday. “I love the player and the person, and that won't change. I know I'm going to get a lot of questions, and I get it. I'm just not going to talk about contracts and all that, so I wanted to just make sure we addressed it, though. In terms of my feelings for him, nothing changes.”
So while Smith waits, he might hold in at Bears camp. After the new CBA was ratified by the NFL and the players’ association in 2020, teams are required to fine players on rookie contracts $40,000 per day of missed training camp. That number jumps to $50,000 per day for players not on rookie deals.
Those fines make holding out a thing of the past. Holding in, however, has been a lucrative strategy for players seeking new contracts. Dalvin Cook did it in 2020 and signed a five-year, $63 million extension the day before the Minnesota Vikings' season opener after being present but not participating in training camp. T.J. Watt did the same last season en route to a four-year, $112 million extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“S---, our leader,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said of Smith. “We all know who Roquan is and what he means to this team.
“But I mean, at the end of the day, somebody has to fill that gap. It's not different to me if he was injured or if he was missing a few weeks. During the game somebody has to step up, somebody has to fill that leadership role, somebody has to call the defense, somebody has to do it. It's an early preparation of what could happen during the season.”
So how would the Bears handle Smith being at camp but choosing to sit out of practices, if that’s what he chooses? The first practice is Wednesday morning.
“I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” coach Matt Eberflus said Tuesday. “But really, you just want to get the max out of them. Whatever they can do, they can do.”
As for Quinn, who set the franchise single-season record for sacks in 2021 with 18.5, uncertainty remains as to whether he’ll take the field for training camp practices after skipping the entire voluntary offseason program and missing mandatory minicamp, for which he did not have an excused absence.
The 32-year-old pass-rusher has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason after Chicago dealt Khalil Mack to the Chargers for draft picks. Quinn stated that he felt like he had done enough on the field “to keep my foot in the building,” and he said he didn’t expect to be traded.
Quinn, an 11-year vet, has been with Chicago since 2020. With three years remaining on his current contract, which comes with a $12.8 million base salary this season, the Bears would clear $12.9 million in salary-cap space if they decide to trade him.
The Bears remain adamant publicly they do not want to trade Quinn. When asked whether Quinn has come to the front office requesting a trade, Poles said he had not had that conversation with him.
“I would hope that he wants to be here, so nothing’s changed on that front,” Poles said.