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Chicago Bears first round pick Roquan Smith is one of just is two first-round picks who has still not signed a contract following the 2018 NFL draft.
Smith, who became the first linebacker from the University of Georgia to win the Butkus Award in 2017, was drafted by the Bears with the eighth overall pick.
He is currently holding out and it’s not because he wants more money. His salary of approximately $18.5 million over four years has pretty much already been determined by by the collective-bargaining agreement. Smith just wants to make sure the money he does make stays in his pocket. And it all has to do with the NFL’s new helmet-to-helmet targeting rule.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times…
Seeking financial protections against the helmet rule is “part of the issue” with the contract, Nagy said, adding that divulging further details wouldn’t be fair to Smith or the team. Nagy said, though, that only “very few” players who signed this year received similar language in their contracts.
While Smith’s agency undoubtedly wants his client to be protected — a source said his side is looking for “very specific” language — the Bears don’t want to set a precedent that will be used by future draftees.
Smith isn’t the first player this year to ask for this addendum to his contract. In fact, another linebacker in the draft, Tremaine Edmunds, who happens to have the same agent as Smith, got it included in his contract with the Bills.
“For both sides, it’s more of a language deal, a language-type deal,” [Bears coach Matt] Nagy said. “For me, as a first-year head coach going through this, my thing is just collaborating with [general manager] Ryan [Pace] and what they have going on with the agent. And making sure that we understand, together, [that] as a head coach, I just continue to keep plugging away with what we have and who we have.”
At this point Smith, along with Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, are the last two 2018 draft picks yet to be signed.
From Inside Training Camp: A look at why #Bears first-round LB Roquan Smith is still unsigned and the contract language element. pic.twitter.com/qPHjEcyCaO
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 29, 2018