Things got so bad between the Bears and Roquan Smith amid negotiations for a contract extension in 2022 that he sent an open letter to chairman George McCaskey asking him to intervene in the impasse between him and general manager Ryan Poles. When Poles wouldn’t sign Smith to the five-year, $100 million deal he wanted, he traded him midseason to the Ravens.
Now Smith gets his first chance to make his point in person when the Bears visit the Ravens on Sunday. He has been an All-Pro three consecutive seasons for the Ravens since the trade and is eager to beat his former team in his return from a hamstring injury.
“I’m excited about the matchup, for sure,” he said. “A lot of amazing people over there that I have a tremendous amount of respect for, but obviously, it’s the team that’s on the schedule, and every team on the schedule has to get dealt with accordingly.
“You have to be the best version of yourself, week in and week out, and it happens to be the Bears… It’s about doing my job to the best of my ability and showing the world exactly who I am.”
He added that he is “absolutely” playing Sunday and practiced in full Wednesday.
Smith, 28, was thought to be a cornerstone of the franchise when former general manager Ryan Pace drafted him eighth overall in 2018. The Ravens certainly viewed him as that type of talent and signed him to that $100 million deal within months of acquiring him.
