Tuesday morning Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith announced that he has requested a trade. NFL Insider Ian Rapoport posted a lengthy message from Smith going into detail on his request. In his message he mentions how he doesn’t feel valued by the new front office. During their process of working out a new contract Smith feels that he has lost the trust from the GM.
It feels like this relationship might be too far gone to mend, but money always talks. There is a good chance we see Chicago just feel its best to not have a lot of money tied anywhere during a rebuild. Only time will tell the full story but until then we can discuss a future trade. Multiple teams have probably already fielded offers for the talented linebacker, and I want to talk about a few places I think he can end up.
Pittsburgh Steelers
It is no secret the Steelers need help on defense. Honestly they need a lot of help in general, but let’s just focus on the defense right now. Devin Bush Jr. hasn’t really been what they hoped for when they traded up to draft him 10th overall. They recently added Myles Jack in the offseason to pair next to Bush but that isn’t a for sure fix. Roquan Smith can give the Steelers some physicality they have missed for awhile. Even with him on the team you can have Bush & Jack battled out or split reps next to Smith. If you add someone like Smith to this front seven I think it becomes one of the better front sevens in the NFL.
Las Vegas Raiders
As I mentioned in my Kareem Hunt article, the Raiders should be all in this season. Last offseason they traded for Denzel Perryman and he has been pretty solid thus far. They signed Jayon Brown in the offseason but Roquan Smith is still a major upgrade at linebacker.
In a division that is focusing so heavily on the offensive side of the ball it might be smart to go against the grain. Derek Carr is a very underrated quarterback and he now has a plethora of weapons to throw to. Having a defense that can prevent even 25% of the normal success
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are another franchise with a lot of history at the linebacker position. Having a thumper in the middle of your defense is something the Ravens do value very highly. With that being said I don’t think they would mind paying Roquan Smith with a new contract. They do need to be cautious of Lamar Jackson’s contract but could easily shift money from their secondary to make it work.
Currently they have Patrick Queen but have struggled to find someone to line up next to him. Over the past few seasons they have shuffled a handful of names, and trading for Roquan would end that shuffle. Also as a Super Bowl contending team it never hurts to solidify your defense.
