4. Roquan Smith, LB
To this day, the Roquan Smith trade is still fresh with some Bears fans. It was not the most ideal way for that situation to end. Smith was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for a second-round pick halfway through the 2022 season and ended up getting paid last offseason, becoming a staple of that Ravens defense.
The Bears may have traded Smith, but they loaded back up at the position last offseason when they signed both T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, pairing them with Jack Sanborn. Chicago is now pretty well loaded at linebacker. But, Smith has ascended into being one of the top linebackers in football.
One has to wonder what this defense would look like with Smith, now. But, the fact is, he might have also gotten tired of Chicago and not feeling as though he was being treated fairly. The ship seemed to have sailed between he and the Bears organization, thus a trade made sense in the end.
Picturing the up-and-coming secondary with Smith there in the thick of the linebacking corps, though, is certainly a fun thought to have.
Regardless, this Bears team is set up well to bring in Williams under center. Just how far will they go in his first year?