5 Chicago Bears who got snubbed by the All-Pro committee
By Dakota Wayne
Year after year, this same conversation happens, where the Chicago Bears have a number of players who played great. Yet, they weren't praised for it by the NFL voters.
It's a question as old as time: Why can't a player for the Chicago Bears get voted into the First-Team All-Pro roster?
Why do the Chicago Bears continually get snubbed on All-Pro voting?
And Roquan Smith is seeing the fruits of his labor be recognized, now that he's not wearing the navy and orange. Two seasons being off the Chicago Bears, two seasons voted First-Team All-Pro.
For example, let's see if the production changed much from when Roquan was last on the Bears to see if maybe the change of scenery made Smith better.
2021 Roquan Smith (Chicago Bears) | 2023 Roquan Smith (Baltimore Ravens) |
|---|---|
17 G, 163 tackles (95 solo, 68 assisted), 3 sacks, 12 TFLs, 1 INT (for a TD), 0 FF | 16 G, 158 tackles (84 solo, 74 assisted), 1.5 sacks, 5 TFLs, 0 INTs, 1 FF |
Oh, okay. The numbers are almost identical, but the uniform is clearly different. Got it!
Is there a campaign run by the NFL to keep the Chicago Bears off the First-Team All-Pro list? Probably not, but the evidence doesn't not support that idea.
Roquan Smith leaves Chicago & instantly becomes a 1st team All-Pro in back to back seasons LMAOO
— Bearsszn (@bearssznn) January 12, 2024
Bears Tax is real and anybody saying otherwise is lying 😂
Now, maybe it's because those who vote care more about the level of play on the team overall, but why would that matter? If someone is performing at the top of the league AND plays for a poor team, wouldn't that be more impressive?
Roquan Smith now plays on the AFC favorite for winning the Super Bowl, so is that what it takes for the Chicago Bears to get their flowers for players who deserve All-Pro status?
The Chicago Bears' to-do list for more All-Pro votes
1.) Win more
2.) Play better
3.) Get more First-Team All-Pro votes
Alright, cool. Maybe that's all the Bears needed. Personally, I do better when I can see and read my goals aloud.
Next season, maybe they win more games. Maybe, just maybe, that'll be the push these voters need to vote the appropriate players to First-Team and Second-Team All-Pro.