Surely, the Bears never thought it’d come to this. Their 2018 No. 8 overall pick Roquan Smith’s ongoing rookie contract holdout is the story lurking prominently in the shadows of a training camp that should’ve been completely about newfound optimism.
Surely, the Bears couldn’t have foreseen a player they saw as the future of the face of their defense extending his holdout through what will now likely be the entirety of camp, and potentially the preseason.
Which is why, clearly, the Bears haven’t checked up on their history of Smith being more than willing to act as a modern football pioneer.