Thoughts on Roquan Smith and the Chicago Bears trade deadline approach

Who knew the Chicago Bears would headline the most eventful trade deadline in NFL history? Many have talked about how NFL teams should trend more toward how the NBA and MLB trade deadlines have become. It is an exciting time to be a Chicago Bears fan and an NFL fan. The NFL rules. Ryan Poles (not King Poles) finished his teardown of the roster by purging Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith. That is no longer news. Most general managers who become sellers during a season do not become buyers. Heck, Poles shared how he was going to build his team through the draft. Who trades for an electric receiver when the team is out of potential playoff contention? Ha, Ryan Poles is trending in the right direction.

Will Chicago Bears miss Roquan Smith?

Something I have said that isn’t news is to do things that other teams are not doing. Become a trendsetter and not a follower. I can tell you that those rumors are correct for those unsure about the rumors that the Green Bay Packers were in on Chase Claypool. Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Sentinal wrote about previously as the trade deadline approached. That’s my advantage of living in the incorrect state, but what can ya do? Roquan Smith. I will miss yelling go, Ro, go. But it became clear that the attacking (blitz-heavy) 4-3 defense did not interest the Chicago Bears’ defensive minds. Is Smith worth $20 million a season? Probably, based on how contracts go.

If Smith was used correctly, he is worth it. I know I have gone back and forth on it, but he was worth the price tag. However, Smith is not worth it to play WILL linebacker in this defensive scheme. Smith doesn’t play like Shaq Leonard or Fred Warner. Stats in the box score don’t always tell the story. We can make fun of PFF (Pro Football Focus) all we want, but at least they stay consistent with their Fred grading, so I’ll continue to use their information as a semi-baseline.

Roquan Smith

Run defense 59.5 Pass rush 58.1 Coverage 44.4

Fred Warner

Run defense 72.3 Pass rush 71.4 Coverage 74.4

Shaq Leonard (2021 due to injury this year)

Run defense 91.1 Pass rush 70.4 Coverage 64.5

We can say what we want about Roquan Smith and PFF, but why has Smith been snubbed from those Pro Bowls and All-Pro team-ones? Why did the Chicago Bears have the NFL’s league leader in tackles, yet their run defense ranked toward the tail end of the league? Try not to take this out of context. I love Roquan Smith, he makes me mad at times, but this defensive scheme requires that aggressive-styled linebacker that will take on guards and tackles while stopping their play or forcing the ball into another defender. That isn’t Smith’s style. Roquan is a run-and-chase guy who can fly sideline to sideline, but he needs to be kept clean. This defense requires that star linebacker to play in the mud, not around it.