LAKE FOREST, In poor health. (AP) Ryan Poles thought he inherited a possible cornerstone participant for the protection in linebacker Roquan Smith when the Chicago Bears employed him as their normal supervisor in January.
A contract standoff that heated up throughout coaching camp led to a commerce demand and finally Smith getting despatched to Baltimore – and the deal nonetheless stinging a day later.
”There’s a part of me that is bummed as a result of this was a man I assumed was gonna be right here a very long time,” Poles mentioned Tuesday. ”I felt like we put lots of effort ahead to get that achieved, and we got here up quick and we could not discover frequent floor.”
The Bears despatched Smith to the Ravens for second- and fifth-round picks within the 2023 draft in addition to linebacker linebacker A.J. Klein on Monday. It was their second main commerce involving a defensive participant in lower than per week after dealing three-time Professional Bowl defensive finish Robert Quinn to Philadelphia.
Chicago pulled off one other transfer previous to Tuesday’s commerce deadline, buying receiver Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Bears’ second-round choose in 2023. They gave quarterback Justin Fields a downfield menace who may assist steadiness their offense. The Bears lead the NFL in dashing and rank final in passing.
The headliner the previous two days was the Smith commerce. And the occasions main as much as it had been well-documented.
The Bears and Smith hoped to strike a brand new deal within the offseason along with his rookie contract set to run out after this 12 months. He participated in voluntary and necessary offseason exercises. However as soon as coaching camp begin, issues actually grew to become heated.
Smith, who doesn’t have an agent, opted to ”maintain in.” That allowed him to attend conferences and practices with out collaborating in drills. He went public with a commerce request and accused Poles of negotiating in unhealthy religion by making take-it-or-leave-it provides.
Smith began practising on Aug. 20, although he made it clear he wasn’t blissful concerning the state of affairs. He didn’t play in any preseason video games. However regardless of that, he’s main the NFL in tackles.
Possibly the end result would have been totally different if Smith had an agent to deal with negotiations and function a buffer between him and the group. Poles acknowledged dealing instantly with a participant was awkward.
”It does make it (pause) simply more durable,” he mentioned.
Poles mentioned the Bears made their last supply to Smith earlier than the season. They only weren’t in a position to bridge the hole.
”We had a distinction in worth,” Poles mentioned. ”I am not going to enter precisely the place he slots and all of that. However on the identical time, you need gamers to assume extremely of themselves. You need them to grasp that they’re the very best at their place. I do not fault him for that. However we had that dialog and clearly, it simply did not work out.”
As for Claypool?
The Bears thought it was higher to strike now slightly than wait, with an underwhelming class of free agent receivers hitting the market after the season.
”You need to do some little bit of forecasting and searching down the highway,” Poles mentioned. ”I simply did not really feel fully comfy with that. To not say that there is not good gamers there.”
Fields can also be beginning to look extra comfy within the offense recently, with the Bears transferring the pocket extra and calling designed runs. He has a giant goal added to the combination within the 6-foot-4 Claypool.
Claypool has 32 receptions for 311 yards and one landing this season for the Steelers. He additionally threw the primary landing move of his profession in final week’s loss to Philadelphia with a brief flip to fullback Derek Watt on a gadget play.
However his manufacturing has slipped this 12 months. He additionally grew to become expendable, dropping to 3rd on the depth chart with rookie George Pickens rising as Pittsburgh’s No. 2 receiver behind Diontae Johnson.
Claypool made a huge impact for the Steelers after they drafted the Notre Dame product within the second spherical in 2020. He had 9 landing catches and ran for 2 extra scores as a rookie, serving to Pittsburgh win the AFC North. However he has simply three TDs since then.
”You may by no means have sufficient weapons and guys that assist your quarterback achieve confidence,” Poles mentioned. ”I do know lots of the fellows are beginning to make performs for us. Including one other receiver goes to permit (Fields) to proceed to develop and achieve that confidence.”
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