Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan said Wednesday that he's "proud" of teammate Roquan Smith for holding out from training camp and he believes his resolve will lead to more holdouts in the future.
Smith ended his 29-day holdout this week when he signed his rookie contract with the Bears. Although rookie deals are slotted (Smith, as the eighth overall pick, received a four-year, $18.4 million contract with $11.5 million guaranteed), agents can still negotiate language within the contracts.
According to multiple reports, the rookie linebacker was able to negotiate into his contract that the Bears can only void his future guarantees for an on-field suspension of three or more games and for a post-play suspension of two or more games.
Most contracts negotiated with the Bears state that they can choose to void future guarantees for any suspension, according to reports. Trevathan was suspended last season for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay Packers wide receiver Devante Adams. He originally was suspended two games but that was reduced to one game on appeal. The Bears did not move to void the future guarantees in his contract, however, according to reports.
"I'm proud, because he made a decision and stuck with it," Trevathan said after his team's joint practice with the Denver Broncos, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "I'm more proud ... it's going to lead to more people doing that.
"It was big for him to do that. It was tough. I know he wanted to get here with his team, and a lot of people were saying 'Oh he needs to get there' and a lot of other bullcrap. You've just got to focus on you sometimes. You only get one chance to do that and I told him, 'Do it the right way -- your heart will never lead you wrong. Do the job and then get here so we can win some games.'"