Chicago Bears Linebacker Roquan Smith Achieves Tremendous Accolade That Has Not Been Seen In Nearly Two Decades
In his first four seasons with the Chicago Bears, there's no denying that Roquan Smith belongs on the list of the league's best linebackers. The expectations were huge for Smith after being drafted by such a historic Franchise that has an elite list of linebackers such as Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, Otis Wilson, Bill George, Brian Urlacher, and Lance Briggs.
Just in four short seasons, Smith has earned 2nd team All-Pro honors in each of the last two seasons, along with this Smith has already eclipsed 500 career tackles, 43 TFLs, and 14 sacks as a Bear.
The last two seasons undeniably have been the best of his career, and the Bears certainly hope this is just the beginning of a long career ahead of Smith in Navy and Orange. According to CBS Sports, Smith has accomplished a rare feat that has not been seen in nearly two decades.
Over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Smith achieved 300+ tackles and 30+ tackles for loss. The last player to put up both of those stats was Baltimore Ravens Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis who achieved this in the 1999 and 2000 seasons in Baltimore.
With newly signed Head Coach Matt Eberflus, Smith hopes to continue his success in a shift to a 4-3 defense where Eberflus has had tremendous success with his linebackers as the defensive coordinators of the Indianapolis Colts. Fellow 2018 draftee Darius Leonard earned DROY honors in 2018 under Eberflus' defense, along with four consecutive All-Pro selections.
If Eberflus and Smith can easily build chemistry we could see Smith sign a multi-year deal with the Bears keeping him in Chicago for many years to come along with etching his name on the list of historic linebackers this franchise has seen.
