Bears linebacker Roquan Smith requests trade, per report

Bears linebacker Roquan Smith wants out of Chicago.

The 25-year-old linebacker has requested a trade, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

In a lengthy statement provided to Rapoport, Smith said the Bears' new front office regime "doesn't value me here." Smith has been trying to work out a contract extension since April, according to his statement, but the Bears have been "trying to take advantage of me."

In the final year of his rookie contract, Smith is slated to make $9.7 million this season, according to OverTheCap.com. He has been sitting out practice during training camp as he awaits a new contract. He has been present at meetings and along the sidelines at practice. The team placed him on the physically unable to perform list with an undisclosed injury when camp began.

In his statement, Smith noted that he wanted to remain a member of the Bears. He took pride in being a "HOMEGROWN Bear!" and noted "a dream came true" when the team drafted him. He embraced the linebacker history in Chicago, mentioning the legacies of Wilber Marshall, Mike Singletary, Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher and Dick Butkus.

"I wanted to be a Bear for my entire career, help this team bring a Super Bowl back to our city," Smith's statement read. "However, they have left me no choice than to request a trade that allows me to play for an organization that truly values what I bring to the table."

Smith noted that he hasn't spoken with team chairman George McCaskey, but said that maybe the McCaskey family "can salvage this."

"As of right now I don't see a path back to the organization I truly love," Smith wrote.

Compared to some of his peers at the position, Smith is vastly underpaid. Indianapolis' Shaquille Leonard and San Francisco's Fred Warner - who were both drafted in 2018 along with Smith - inked extensions that were worth more than $90 million in total and more than $19 million per season in recent years.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles addressed Smith's situation briefly at the start of training camp, but didn't elaborate much on the contract negotiations.

"My feelings for Roquan don't change at all," Poles said on July 26. "I love the player and the person and that won't change."

Smith has not spoken publicly since the spring.

According to Rapoport, the team offered a backloaded contract that wouldn't make him the highest paid linebacker in actual salary. The deal included some sort of proposed de-escalators that aren't common in a deal of this size. Rapoport noted that the deal "offended" Smith.