Nagy: Missing camp will limit Smith
BOURBONNAIS — Missing all of training camp has limited how effective rookie linebacker Roquan Smith can be in Week 1, Bears coach Matt Nagy said Sunday — the 28th day of Smith’s contract standoff.
‘‘I would say so; I think it does,’’ Nagy said after the Bears’ final practice at Olivet Nazarene University. ‘‘You’re playing at that position, and there are a lot of calls that go on. Very similar to a quarterback, there’s a lot going on.
‘‘But I have full confidence in [defensive Club’s ownership, Club coaches, Club management, any of Club’s operations or policies, or the NFL.’’
This fits in perfectly with the Bears’ emphasis on public perception, on putting their best foot forward at all times. General manager Ryan Pace is ultraconcerned about the locker-room culture, about players’ character, about the idea of everyone getting along. He is very proud of the ‘‘collaborative’’ decision-making inside Halas Hall.
Appearances are everything to the Bears.
Well, not Super Bowl appearances. Those don’t matter quite as much, judging by the two trips the franchise has made to the big game since the first Super Bowl in 1967.
And postseason appearances aren’t everything to the Bears, either. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2010. In the last 25 years, they have made the playoffs five times. coordinator] Vic [Fangio] and his staff that, when [Smith] does get here, they’ll get him up to speed. Whenever that is, we’ll see. That’s why we all get paid as coaches — to try to help our players out as much as possible — and that’s kind of where we’re at.’’
The Bears and Smith, the No. 8 overall pick in the draft, are at odds about whether the team will be able to void guarantees in his contract for specific on-field actions that lead to suspension.
‘‘I’m sure he’s frustrated because he wants to be here,’’ linebacker Danny Trevathan said. ‘‘It’s more of him not knowing what
But don’t say anything bad about the Bears if you’re a player! You might pay for it!
This from the franchise that signed troubled Ray McDonald and gave troubled Tank Johnson chance after chance.
Teams clearly should have some control over guaranteed money. If you give a running back a $5 million signing bonus, you should be able to get that money back if he kills someone in a bar, beats up his wife or has a meth lab in his basement.
It gets more problematic when it’s an on-field issue. If a player punches an opponent in the heat of battle and gets suspended by the NFL, why should a team have the right to void his guaranteed money, especially if the league already has taken away his weekly paychecks as punishment? And in a game that has violence at its core, isn’t occasional excessive violence almost built into the equation?
A team should be able to take away a to do. Being young, you want to get here for your team, but you want to make the right decision. You only get one chance to do this, so you want to do it the right away.”
Trevathan said he has been in contact with Smith, who was drafted out of Georgia to start next to him.
‘‘I’ve just been trying to make sure he keeps his right and he just keeps being Roquan,’’ Trevathan said. ‘‘ ‘Ro’, man, you can’t let people change you. But you’ve got to make the right decisions for you. The team misses you, but you have to do what’s in front of you.’ ’’ player’s guaranteed money if he fails a drug test. On the other hand, this is a league that almost demands its offensive linemen be 320 pounds, which is to say that this is a league that almost requires offensive linemen to find pharmaceutical help.
This is all about control. The Bears want more of it. They want to be able to recoup money. But drawing a line in the sand over Smith, who widely is considered to be a solid citizen, seems bizarre. The Bears obviously see the Smith impasse as a threat to future contracts. They don’t want to set a precedent by letting him get out of behavior clauses. His agents want to protect his money by taking that language out of the contract.
But the bottom line in all of this is that these are the Bears. They are coming off four consecutive seasons of 10 or more losses, and they’re fighting with the only unsigned draft pick in the league. Of course, they are.