LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) -- A pair of NFL stars ended hold-ins with contract extensions in recent days, as Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf and 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel each landed lucrative long-term deals with their respective teams. Is Bears linebacker Roquan Smith next in line?
The market for Metcalf and Samuel had been set by other deals previously struck by star wide receivers. The market at linebacker was set high by stars like the Colts' Darius Leonard and the 49ers' Fred Warner in 2021, when each received five-year extensions worth just shy of $100 million. The Bears are flush in cap space, and whether Smith would accept just shy of that $100-million figure is unclear.
The Bears' negotiations with Smith are more challenging because he hasn't hired an agent. That has left the 25-year-old Smith to represent himself, a dynamic that general manager Ryan Poles admitted creates more difficult dialogue.
With those factors still in play, Smith has been sidelined through the first week of training camp at Halas Hall in an apparent contract hold-in as he seeks an extension. The Bears elected to place him on the physically-unable-to-perform list without disclosing an injury. That's allowed within the confines of the PUP list rules and perhaps a goodwill measure by Poles to make Smith's apparent hold-in less of a distraction.
Smith has been present with the Bears during team meetings, film study and other off-field activities. But once practice begins, he moves on to individual conditioning work away from the field.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus deferred to Poles when asked Monday if there has been progress with Smith on a contract extension.
"I'm not in the middle of that, so I really can't say there's progress (or) not progress," Eberflus said. "That's Ryan and him working together. So, I don't really have an update my part. I just know that he's being a professional, he's in the meetings and he's doing a good job with helping the younger players.
"You got to play it day-by-day, and I think that's it's going to be what it is. So, when he gets off of PUP, and he's working with Ryan and gets that done, we'll see what happens and it's day-by-day. When it happens, we'll make that adjustment, plug and play."
Chargers safety Derwin James is also conducting a hold-in as he seeks a contract extension in Los Angeles. Metcalf and Samuel each skipped practices last week as their respective training camps began. Metcalf signed a three-year contract worth up to $72 million with the Seahawks on Friday morning. Samuel struck a three-year deal worth up to $73.5 million with the 49ers on Monday morning.
Smith played in all 17 regular-season games last season, recording 163 combined tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, three sacks and an interception. The No. 8 overall pick in 2018, Smith is due $9.735 million in fully guaranteed money in 2022 as part of his fifth-year option getting picked up.
If a contract extension isn't reached, Smith is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March 2023.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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