Bears Rumors: Roquan Smith Top-Paid LB Offer 'Not Real'; Contract 'Way Backloaded'

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Bears are interested in making Roquan Smith the highest-paid LB in the league, but their latest offer to the inside linebacker is not a real highest-paid offer.

Rapoport said during an interview.

My understanding is that they could make him the highest-paid LB in the league. It is not a real high-paid offer. The last year has a high number and it makes the average high but it isn't real. They have asked him to do things that he doesn't want to do.

According to Rapoport, Chicago's offer to Smith wouldn't make him the highest paid in actual salary, and included de-escalators that weren't a single player out of the 94 non-QB contracts.

Smith asked for a trade from the Bears this week after contract talks broke down. The 25-year-old wrote in a statement shared by Rapoport that he believes the franchise's front office doesn't value him here.

Smith said that every step of the journey has been "taking it or leaving it." If I sign the deal, it will be bad for myself and the LB market.

According to Rapoport, Smith asked the Bears for more money than Leonard, who signed a five-year, $98.5 million deal with the team in August.

Leonard was paid the highest amount of money in the league. He has been with the Colts for four seasons and has played in 58 games.

Leonard, a three-time Pro Bowler and three-time All- Pro, won the defensive rookies of the year award.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles told reporters earlier this week that the front office is still trying to negotiate a new deal for Smith.

I'm going to double down on what I've said before, my feelings for Roquan haven't changed at all. He is a very good football player. I like the child. I'm really disappointed with where we're at right now because I love what he's done. I thought we would be in a better situation.

I have always believed that we should take care of our own talent in the front office. We pay them, we take care of them, and we also take everyone for what they have done and what they can do in the future. There's record-setting pieces of this contract that I thought was going to show him the respect that he deserved, but that hasn't been the case.

Smith was selected by the Bears in the first round. In his four seasons with the Bears, he has played in 61 games and made 524 tackles.

Smith will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2020 season if the Bears and Smith can't agree on an extension.