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Report: No contact between Bears and holdout Roquan Smith

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

As the Chicago Bears prepare for their second preseason game of the year, rookie linebacker Roquan Smith remains away from the team.

The last holdout from the 2018 NFL Draft class, Smith’s absense is rooted in the Bears wanting to limit some guarantees in his contract to protect the team should the former Georgia linebacker be suspended for violating the league’s new tackle rule.

A problem that’s been specific to the Bears, it doesn’t look like this is going away any time soon. According to Dan Bernstein of WSCR 670 in Chicago, the Bears are “dug in” relating to the stalamate and the two sides have not had any recent contact.

This certainly doesn’t bode well for Smith’s ability to make an immediate impact as a rookie. Given that the top-10 pick does not have a history of dirty hits, it’s rather alarming that Chicago is attempting to limit his guarantees because of some ridiculous rules the NFL set forth this past offseason.

As Bernstein notes, it doesn’t look like the Bears themselves are going to budge any time soon. We also don’t expect Smith’s camp to give in. If that’s the case, we can expect a protracted stalemate, potentially into the season.

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