The Chicago Bears aren’t usually prone to extending their players until they enter the final year of their rookie deals or as they’re about to enter free agency. Eddie Jackson got his extension last offseason as his fourth year approached. Kyle Fuller actually hit the market the year before on the transition tag before he got his deal. So one can imagine GM Ryan Pace figures to do the same with Roquan Smith after picking up his 5th-year option for 2022.
Here’s the thing. That would be a mistake. Pace needs to work on getting the 24-year old extended right now. Why? As of this instant, Smith will receive top 5 linebacker money. His level of play has been enough to warrant that. If the Bears allow this to go one more season and he ends up putting together a fourth-straight year of All-Pro-level play? Then he’ll have a case for becoming the highest-paid linebacker in the league.
Why does that matter?
Think about this. The 4th and 5th-highest paid linebackers in the NFL right now are Myles Jack and Deion Jones at $14.25 million per year. Conversely, Bobby Wagner ranks 1st among all at $18 million. That is a difference of almost $4 million per year. If the Bears work to extend Smith now, they might be able to get it somewhere between $14.5 and $17 million. That would put him in the top 3. If they wait and he dominates? They’ll have to top $18 million. Or even more if fellow 2018 draft pick Darius Leonard gets his big extension first.
Just look at what the Buffalo Bills did with Tre’Davious White. He was a 1st round pick in 2017. In his third season, he made All-Pro with six interceptions. They could’ve waited on an extension through the 5th-year option. Instead, they decided to hand him his new contract during the 2020 offseason. One that paid him $17.25 million per year. While that seems high, he’s only the third-highest paid corner in the league. A ranking that is certain to drop significantly as more corners push the ceiling higher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4ATM8Tm6c&t=5s&ab_channel=ChicagoBears
Roquan Smith is poised for a big year
Keep this in mind. In 2020 he had a career-best season with 139 tackles and five sacks. All of it without Eddie Goldman manning the interior of the defensive line. Now Goldman should be back. That will help keep offensive linemen off Smith even more than usual, which is terrifying given what he accomplished last year. This feels like one of those true breakout campaigns looming on the horizon.
One that is going to make him a very rich man in the near future. Remember the Bears already have two of the highest-paid defenders in the NFL on their starting roster. Khalil Mack at outside linebacker and Eddie Jackson at safety. Do they really want a third given the salary cap limitations? Roquan Smith is going to be expensive either way. Working to keep him for a couple million dollars less per year should be the goal.
Pace though is a gambler.
He may be thinking Smith has a slightly lesser season than last year. This would end up giving the Bears a little extra leverage in negotiations, allowing them get a deal that is good for the team. Then again that approach didn’t help much with Jackson who still got top dollar. If nothing else, it would send a great message that the team is looking to secure their future on defense.