One minor difference in the Roquan Smith contract negotiations with the Chicago Bears in comparison to other negotiations is that Roquan Smith does not have an agent. This means that Smith will be doing the talking for himself, and it means that he is going to be privy to discussions that most players do not hear.
In most cases, you would see the agent as the intermediary between the team and the player. If the player is mad, he tells the agent and the agent words it nicely for the team and vice versa. Without the person in between, both sides are hearing the whole negotiation, and it left Smith in a spot where he said that he felt the team no longer wanted him.
Most players do not go this hard one way this quickly, probably because most players are hearing the talks through their agent and not the team.
One interesting note from back before the NFL draft was a comment Smith made about not having an agent. He said that it is all personal at the end of the day.
Roquan Smith, who self represents, on managing doing what an agent does when he's in line for a contract ext: "It’s all personal at the end of the day. That’s just what I’m focused on. My main focus is out on the field and doing what I have to do and bond better with my boys." https://t.co/RUGmXXl6ts
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) April 20, 2022
That is almost the exact opposite of what you hear from every NFL player. It is all business at the end of the day is what every player says, probably because they have an agent who is telling him not to take things personally. For Smith, he admitted that it is personal for him, so of course, he is taking every offer personally.
This can have some pros and some cons. On the positive, Smith looks at his teammates as a family, he looks at Chicago as his town, and he buys into the team and the family aspect. On the other end, when the Bears treat things as a business, he immediately gets mad and assumes the team does not care about him.
Most negotiations would see a lowball offer, then Smith counters with his best, and the two slowly meet in the middle. Smith got the lowball offer and requested a trade.
There is no wrong way about it, but it is admittedly different than what you typically see in contract negotiations.