The Chicago Bears Roquan Smith Standoff Is Finally Over

The Chicago Bears Roquan Smith impasse over his rookie contract was an unwelcome distraction for the team in what is considered one of the most important seasons in the past decade. The #8 overall pick was the final holdout of the 2018 draft class, battling with the Bears over language in his deal that would protect his guaranteed money against a possible suspension for non-football incidents on the field. The Bears had held their ground on the issue for weeks, not wanting to set a precedent for the future that others would certainly demand. It looked like there was no movement on either side for a long time. All the while two preseason games and all of training camp came and went. It would appear either the Bears or Smith realized things were getting to a point where the standoff was hurting more than helping. That's why Adam Schefter broke the news that the rookie linebacker would head to Halas Hall to finish off and sign the contract.

Chicago Bears Roquan Smith reunion will begin in Denver

A lot of people liked to compare this situation to what happened between Joey Bosa and the Chargers two years ago. While there are some similarities, the truth is the Bears handled this quite well. The two sides never stopped communicating and it never got controversial or petty as things did with Bosa.

Smith will be back just in time to join the team on their trip up to Denver where they will hold joint practices with the Broncos in preparation for the preseason matchup on Saturday. Odds are Smith will not play in that game. Not after missing all of training camp. He's got a lot of ground to make up before the team even considers putting him on the field. The fourth outing at home against the Kansas City Chiefs make more sense. As for the idea of whether he can crack the starting lineup? It appears Nick Kwiatkoski has a firm hold of that job after a strong camp. It would likely take a major first impression by Smith to knock him out of that spot before Week 1 in Green Bay. Then again a lot can happen in a month.