Roquan Smith may eventually be on the move after he requested a trade, but the league wants a strong message to be sent to all interested teams.
According to a report from league insider Tom Pelissero, the person making contact with teams regarding the Bears linebacker is not an official agent.
“The NFL Management Council sent a memo to clubs, warning them that a person contacting clubs about trading for #Bears LB Roquan Smith isn’t a certified agent and that any contact with a player under contract or his agent without direct written permission is tampering, per source,” he reports.
“Tampering is a corrosive problem that undermines both the integrity of the game and relationships among clubs,” the NFL Management Council said in a memo it sent to the league’s teams, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. “Accordingly, in the event that tampering is found, the Competition Committee has recommended the imposition of more stringent discipline than … imposed in prior years.”
The 2022 season is set to be the final one on Smith’s contract, and he and the Bears have been unable to come to terms on a new agreement.
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So far, the Chicago Bears aren’t guilty of any tampering.
While Smith started training camp on the physically unable to perform list, the team removed him from the list following the trade request. That means the Bears could punish him for missing practices as the 2022 campaign approaches.
The 25-year-old is coming off a season that saw him tally 163 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three sacks, three passes defended, and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown.
