5 Chicago Bears failing to live up to expectations

The Chicago Bears have lost three games in a row. They are obviously not living up to expectations as a whole. Still, there are also a few specific players who need to be doing more in order for the team to win games every week. Which players are struggling the most when compared to their preseason expectations?

These are the players that the team was counting on, and not seeing the rewards.

5. Will Chicago Bears extend the disappointing Roquan Smith?

The Chicago Bears and Roquan Smith hit a roadblock when it comes to their contract negotiations and it led to Smith requesting a trade and then saying that he would bet himself. So far, that has yet to happen.

You could say that Thursday was his second-best game of the season, and the game was also a disappointment as we saw Carson Wentz lay a huge block on him. Every week there seems to be a play in the backfield, a missed tackle, or getting blocked a quarterback that is preventing him from being the explosive playmaker and all-around leader of the defense.

Smith played great against the Houston Texans, but it has been a mix of good and bad since then with a lot of average in between. He missed Saquon Barkley in the backfield and looked uninspired chasing down Aaron Jones on a touchdown. That is fine for a normal starter, but this is a player asking to be paid like the best linebacker in the NFL.

So far this season he is nowhere near that, and it is looking more likely that Roquan Smith will be hitting free agency and spending his last games with the Chicago Bears. He would have to play a lot better to get an offer from Chicago that he would like before free agency.