Roquan deserves to be paid

The Roquan Smith contract extension negotiations were really fascinating. Acting as his own agent, he put the Bears in the odd situation of not only making offers but having to explain to him what the offers meant. Then he would apparently take the offers and show them to random people who were “advising” him, including some guy named Saint Omni who bills himself as a “business consultant and manager for high profile NFL Athletes and celebrities.”

Roquan wrote a long, rambling statement before the Bears first preseason game in which he accused the Bears of not negotiating in good faith.

Unfortunately, the new front office regime doesn't value me here. They've refused to negotiate in good faith, every step of this journey has been 'take it or leave it'. The deal sent to me is one that would be bad for myself, and for the entire LB market if I signed it. I’ve been trying to get something done that’s fair since April, but their focus has been on trying to take advantage of me."

I enjoyed the “every step of this journey has been ‘take it or leave it’”part. Every time they make me an offer they tell me to take it or leave it, and then they make me another one.

And, “their focus has been on trying to take advantage of me.”

Roquan, buddy. That’s not true. The Bears number one focus for more than 100 years has always been on taking advantage of the fans. Traditions never change.