Matt Nagy made it clear last season that he was not going to discuss the unusual situation revolving around Roquan Smith. This after the inside linebacker chose to sit out a game against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4. No reason was given for why this happened. It didn’t appear to be injury-related. That sparked tons of wild speculation about what it could be.
Prince Amukamara hinted on his Instagram that it might be related to depression issues. Whatever the case was, Smith returned a week later and nothing else was said about it. After a sluggish few weeks, the kid really began to turn up the juice in Week 9 against Philadelphia. Over the next six games, he had 52 tackles, two sacks, and an interception.
Sadly his season ended in the 12th game when he tore his pectoral against Dallas. The only glimpse people have had of him since then was his foray with an adult film star at a boat party in Florida. So the Bears media were curious about where his head is at going into 2020. Nagy didn’t seem at all concerned.
“He’s in a good place. All of the Zoom meetings, he’s good. So it’s exciting. I really like where he’s at. He’s growing and I think he’s going to have a really good 2020.”
Roquan Smith is still a kid. Something people tend to forget
Obviously Smith is an adult. He is going into his third NFL season so it’s natural for people to expect him to act and behave like one. At the same time, those people forget how young he actually is. Smith only just turned 23-years old in April. That is the age of most rookies coming into the NFL. There is still a lot of that college behavior in him. Driving cars recklessly. Partying on boats.
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If this were impacting his play on the field, it would be an obvious issue. The truth is though it hasn’t. Smith was playing his best football prior to his injury. Odds are he would’ve been in Pro Bowl conversations if he’d finished the year out. One also should not forget the great work he’s done off the field with charities.
So one should not worry about him. If anything, Nagy is putting offenses on notice that he is coming for their souls this season.