Bears star linebacker Roquan Smith has requested a trade out of Chicago, as he's unhappy with how long-term contract discussions have played out and believes the organization doesn't value him properly.
Following that development, Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson took to social media to make it clear that he wants his team to go get Smith.
Patterson knows Smith better than most. The two played together in Chicago in 2019 and 2020 before Patterson signed with the Falcons last season.
The Falcons have sought to bolster a defense that has routinely ranked near the bottom of the NFL, and adding a player like Smith could do just that. Smith, 25, has earned second-team All-Pro honors in each of the past two seasons and is coming off a 2021 campaign in which he had 163 total tackles.
Smith is a former Georgia Bulldog, enjoying a fantastic three-year career there. While he was successful throughout his career, he was especially so in 2017, when he was a consensus All-America selection, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year he led the team to its first national championship game appearance under coach Kirby Smart.
His success in Athens led the Bears to select him at No. 8 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
One interesting note to keep in mind is that current Falcons senior executive Ryan Pace is the former Bears general manager who selected Smith in the NFL Draft. Pace and the Falcons have shown a penchant for signing former players Bears, having added several this offseason.
A potential acquisition of Smith would be a rather costly move for the Falcons to make, both in terms of the trade and the contract they would have to give him, but he'd immediately become a building block for the defense alongside defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and cornerback A.J. Terrell.
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