Smith’s trade request gives Bears’ regime early fork-in-road moment

The honeymoon is officially over for Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. 

It ended before they registered one L in the loss column. 

Roquan Smith, the Bears’ unquestioned best player, offered Poles an early test as general manager. One he has yet to pass. 

The star linebacker, set to make $9.7 million this season, wants a contract extension he has earned with his play on the field. Both Poles and Smith said all the right things this offseason regarding the 25-year-old’s long-term future with the franchise. 

Little progress was made over the summer, leading to Smith holding in at training camp. The Bears placed him on the PUP list, but it’s clear the ailment is contractual. 

Things reached a head Tuesday when Smith released a statement requesting a trade from the only organization he has known. 

Among Smith’s frustrations were the proposed de-escalators in the contract that none of the 94 non-quarterback players who make $15 million or more annually have in their deals. 

It’s easy to see why Smith would see the Bears’ offer, which doesn’t make him the highest-paid linebacker in terms of salary, as insulting. 

Smith releasing this request Tuesday, the morning of Family Fest at Soldier Field, is a clear negotiating tactic. 

The Bears and Smith still have 33 days before Week 1 to work out a deal. But Smith’s request puts the Bears’ new regime in a corner and presents them with an early fork-in-the-road moment. 

There are two sides to each negotiation, and there are two ways to look at how the Bears have handled Smith’s contract. 

How this saga ends will set the course for the start of the Poles-Eberflus regime. 

Smith is a 25-year-old off-ball linebacker who is one of the best at his position. He wants to reset the linebacker market. That’s a distinction he’s earned by being elite over the past four seasons. 

He’s the Bears’ best player. On a team Poles essentially gutted of veteran talent this offseason, Smith figured to be one of the building blocks of the rebuild. 

What kind of message does it send to the other players in the locker room if you either can’t or won’t give your best player the money he has earned? It would send an even worse message to give in to Smith’s request and deal him for a return that almost certainly wouldn’t have an equal value to what he provides on the field. 

It’s hard to sell your future vision to a locker room and a fan base if you cut bait with your star player, who wants to be a Bear for life before you’ve even played a game. What are the chances Robert Quinn still wants to stay if Smith joins Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, and others in waving goodbye to Chicago? He might hate moving, but playing for a contender will soften that blow. 

Also, if you’re unwilling to pay Smith what he deserves, what kind of message does that send to Jaylon Johnson, Justin Fields, and Darnell Mooney, all of whom appear to be long-term building blocks?

Poles has a long-term vision for the Bears. He was brought in to execute that vision. It’s going to be hard for most to square a winning rebuild plan that doesn’t include a 25-year-old All-Pro linebacker in the middle of the defense. 

Trading Smith for what would likely amount to pennies on the dollar would be an early loss for the new regime and might wipe their first win off the board if Quinn follows and requests a trade. 

In a vacuum, the easy answer is the Bears should pay Smith what he wants and has earned. 

But things are never that simple. 

Poles undoubtedly is a fan of Smith’s game. How could you not be? But the general manager surely wants to see how Smith fits in Eberflus and Alan Williams’ defense before forking over $100 million. 

Some metrics have noted that Smith’s tendency to bite on play-action, ceding ground in the passing game, doesn’t fit with the prototypical Eberflus linebacker like Shaquille Leonard and Bobby Okereke. 

Those linebackers adjusted their games to fit into Eberflus’ scheme. There’s a chance that Smith can do the same, but paying him before you see that in action could be a mistake if the fit isn’t right. 

The rebuttal is that, as a coach, your job is to mold what you do to your best player’s strengths. If Smith isn’t a perfect fit in your ideal scheme, alter it to make it fit one of the best off-ball linebackers in the game. 

There’s also the question of the Bears’ window. 

One look at the roster and all the holes in it shows you how much work Poles has to do and how far away the Bears likely are from being legitimate contenders. Does spending $100 million on an off-ball linebacker who probably will be declining when the Bears’ window opens make sense? 

It depends on who you ask. 

Eberflus, a coach whose goal is to win and win now, would say yes. Poles, who the Bears hired to construct and execute a multi-year rebuild, might think differently. 

The Bears can either pay Smith and make him part of their future, or trade him and send a message to the rest of the roster about how they evaluate players and their opinion of the long haul ahead. The Bears can play hardball with Smith, and try and force him to play. That’s unlikely. 

The Bears’ new regime now has two roads in front of them paved by a trade request issued by their best player. 

Which road they take will set an early course for the Poles-Eberflus era. A direction that might be difficult to change if they choose incorrectly.

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