Roquan Smith made headlines today after requesting a trade from the Bears. The 2018 first rounder and reigning All-Pro released a statement criticising the new front office in Chicago, saying that they did not value him and that they “refused to negotiate in good faith”. Smith clearly feels like he deserves to be paid like one of the top linebackers in the league, and will now need to look elsewhere for that pay day. Here are three of his best trade destinations.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers feel like the most obvious option in this scenario. This is a team in a Super Bowl window with high expectations for 2022. They already boast one of the game’s best offenses, and they have made significant strides in improving their defense this offseason. If there is one spot that remains a concern though it is inside linebacker. As things stand, Kenneth Murray and Drue Tranquill are the team’s starters in 2022.
Smith is not only an improvement on those two, but he also has experience playing in a similar defense under Sean Desai in Chicago. With $14.4 million in cap space the Chargers have more than enough to accommodate Smith’s $9.7 million price tag for 2022. With some creative accounting they could also backload any long-term deal to keep him cheap for 2023. Whether this move will happen is another question. The team don’t seem to value off-ball linebackers particularly highly and they might not be so keen to give him a top of the market contract.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos are another team in the AFC West who feel like they are in a Super Bowl window for 2022. Whilst the high-powered offense has garnered most of the headlines this offseason, the defense looks legitimately impressive. As with the Chargers though, there are concerns at linebacker. Josey Jewell is a solid starter, but is coming off an injury that saw him miss the bulk of the 2021 season. The other options aren’t overly exciting either.
Smith would slot in from day one as the team’s LB1. Just like with the Chargers, he would be playing under a similar scheme to the one he has had in Chicago. New Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero worked under Brandon Staley with the Rams and is part of the wider Fangio coaching tree. With $11.5 million in cap space they would have no issues affording Smith either. The concern will be the compensation. It isn’t clear what the Bears want for Smith, but the Broncos traded away their 2023 first and second round picks in the Russell Wilson trade.
Philadelphia Eagles
If the Bears don’t mind trading within the NFC, then the Eagles could also be in play. Questions remain about their potential in 2022, but this is an ambitious team who clearly feel like they are in contention for the NFC East. As with the other teams on this list though, they are looking noticeably thin at linebacker. Their current projected starters are Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards, neither of whom have ever been more than a solid starter.
The one thing that the Eagles might offer Chicago over the other teams is compensation. With two first round picks in 2023, they could plausibly send one to the Bears in exchange for Smith. Whether that would be a prudent use of valuable draft capital is another question entirely, but it is definitely a possibility. The one slight barrier is cap space. The Eagles are just under Smith’s $9.7 million cap hit, so some changes to contracts might be required. Other than that it feels very much like a plausible scenario.
