LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) -- With the start of training camp upon us and a new season on the horizon, most NFL players prefer to have their agents and representatives handle the business side of football. Bears star linebacker Roquan Smith is taking a different approach at a pivotal point in addressing his future.
Smith still isn't officially represented by a certified NFL agency and is currently representing himself amid what can now best be described as a contract hold-in, multiple sources said. It has left a cloud of uncertainty over negotiations between Smith and the Bears entering his final season under contract.
The 25-year-old Smith reported to Halas Hall on Tuesday but isn't expected to practice Wednesday when the Bears begin their training camp. The belief is Smith will choose to remain sidelined until he gets a contract extension to his liking.
"My feelings for Roquan don't change at all," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said Tuesday. "I love the player and the person, and that won't change.
"I don't know what his intentions are."
Poles admitted that relationships with players are "a different situation" when they're working without an agent. That's especially true in the case of Smith, who could seek to reset the market for inside linebackers with his next deal. That would mean exceeding the five-year, $99.25-million contract that Colts star linebacker Darius Leonard received last August. It's a lofty goal but not an unreasonable expectation.
Of course, Leonard is a three-time first-team All-Pro linebacker. Smith has played at that level during portions of his career but hasn't been recognized in the same class, as he has twice received second-team All-Pro honors. Those become complicated bargaining factors.
Former Bears general manager Ryan Pace previously bought time for contract negotiations with Smith, who was tendered the fifth-year option for a fully guaranteed $9.375 million in 2022. But Smith could become an unrestricted free agent after this season if a contract extension isn't reached in Chicago.
Poles is now leading the front office at Halas Hall and in a difficult position with one of the Bears' few proven stars on the roster he inherited. Without a certified agent representing Smith, contract negotiations become more complicated. While NFL agents typically receive up to 10% of contracts that they form on behalf of their clients, a player such as Smith would be at risk of missing out on that same value in a contract negotiated without an established agent.
The No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Smith broke into the league with Todd France of CAA as his lead agent. Immediately, Smith's side and the Bears fought over contract terms in his rookie deal pertaining to language over potential voids. The situation was worked out in late August 2018, but Smith didn't start in that season opener as a result of falling behind in training camp.
Smith had a career-best 163 combined tackles while playing a full 17-game regular season in 2021, when he continued to strengthen his place as a leader with the Bears. He's now also one of the team's longest-tenured players.
Smith's anticipated absence from practices now looms over the beginning of the first training camp in the Poles-Matt Eberflus era. As the team works through a transitioning roster, arguably the most important player not named Justin Fields is going to be away from the field.
"S--, our leader," Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said of Smith. "I mean, we all know who Roquan is, what he means for our team. But at the end of the day, somebody has to fill that gap.
"Somebody has got to step up, somebody has to fill that leadership role, somebody has to call the defense. Somebody has to do it."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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