People are naturally inclined to love a mystery. Right now the Chicago Bears feeding one to fans and media alike in regards to this Roquan Smith situation. It all started just before the game against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. After practicing all week, the news dropped that Smith was suddenly declared doubtful to play. Then he was made inactive. The only explanation that was given at the time was "personal reasons."
Head coach Matt Nagy did nothing to help clarify the matter. Every single time he was asked a question on Smith, he refused to answer with anything other than, "It's a personal matter and I won't get into that." They asked a lot too. So it's clear the Bears PR team is deadset on keeping whatever this issue is as tightknit as possible. Adding further to the confusion is him being allowed access to the team as if nothing is wrong.
Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported an interesting little moment in the locker room on Tuesday.
"The Bears’ inside linebacker spent Tuesday working out at Halas Hall, even ducking into the locker room during the period in which reporters were allowed access — only to be shooed away by a member of the team’s media relations staff."
That makes it clear they don't want him talking to anybody. So what exactly might this entire mess be about? No one knows for sure, but there are a few interesting theories. Here they are.
Theories regarding Roquan Smith "personal issue"
#1 - Mental health concerns
This is the one that the mainstream media is running with. Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano of ESPN both reported that Smith "wasn't acting like himself" leading up to the game on Sunday. So a decision was made by the team to deactivate the linebacker against Minnesota. Details as to what exactly that means aren't available. All people know is this didn't stop Smith from standing on the sidelines with his teammates watching the game.
So these indications of mental health worries must not be that serious. If they were, wouldn't he be getting evaluated by professionals or something? Maybe, maybe not.
#2 - Was involved in a car accident on the night before the game
The first theory to pop up involved a reported accident involving two cars on Saturday evening before the game. One of them was a white Ferrari with red seating. Many believe this is remarkably similar to a car Smith was reported to have been seen driving. The idea is the Bears deactivated him because the police may be investigating whether or not he was involved and if he possibly fled the scene.
Schefter indicated that the car theory is offbase. That the vehicle is not his. Others on Reddit and Twitter insist they were close to the accident when it happened and insist Smith was indeed involved. However, proof of this remains absent.
#3 - Refused to play in the Bears throwback uniforms
This one is the most interesting, though also the one with little backing in proof. Last Sunday the Bears unveiled their new throwback jerseys. These come circa the 1936 era. Why would this matter? Well that was a time when football was a segregated sport. Only white men were allowed to play in the NFL at that time. Those uniforms represented such an era. It wouldn't be hard for a proud black man, like Smith, to not feel wild about the idea of wearing them.
The theory is he made a conscious decision to refuse to do so, forcing the Bears to bench him for the Vikings game. This after the team made a strong media drive to make it clear they were aware of the jersey's unfortunate origins and were hoping to use that to raise awareness. That may not have been enough for Smith.
Adding to all this? Teammates don't seem that perturbed by it. They profess to not know anything about it and yet offer some subtle hints that they expect the problem to pass quickly.
Danny Trevathan: "Probably not as concerned as you guys [media]. I'm just here to work and have my guy back."
Khalil Mack: "It's in-house…we know he's going to get better and we look forward to him getting back out there with us."
All of these comments at least suggest that Smith's issue isn't as serious as some of the reports make it seem. Unless the Bears suddenly start talking, details will remain scarce. The team travels for London on Thursday. If Smith doesn't go with them, that will offer a further idea of how serious the situation is.
