Trading Roquan Smith is regrettable and counterproductive for Bears

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Smith was one of the few surefire pieces the Bears had in place for their future.The Bears needed a full teardown. That’s why the general manager position was open for Ryan Poles in the first place. There was little worth clinging to on a roster that had bottomed out under Ryan Pace’s watch, and the delusion of thinking they were close only made Poles’ rebuild more difficult.

So painful departures like Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn were inevitable and sensible.

But Roquan Smith? That’s regrettable and counterproductive.

By trading Smith to the Ravens for a second- and fifth-round pick plus linebacker A.J. Klein, Poles flipped the best, most surefire player on his roster for some…