Aaaand there it is:
The Bears were hoping to get their first look at first-round pick Roquan Smith in Saturday’s preseason game.
But as with many players who miss long portions of training camps for contractual reasons, Smith may not be physically ready to.
According to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune, the rookie linebacker left Tuesday’s practice because of tightness in his left hamstring. Coach Matt Nagy said shutting him down was just a precaution, and didn’t rule out him practicing today.
Smith missed all 16 practices of training camp, during his 29-day contract impasse with the Bears. After securing protection from some voided guarantees, he signed on Aug. 14, and has practiced since then.
Before yesterday’s practice, Smith was asked the biggest challenge to be ready for the regular season, and he replied: “Just being in football shape. You work out and do all the running you can, but it’s nothing like football shape.”
And while it’s easy to connect the potential cause and effect, Nagy wanted to remain positive.
“If you have a negative mentality with it and the glass is half empty, then you want to make sure you don’t let that affect you at all,” Nagy said. “I was just talking to him. I said, ‘Hey man, just get that thing right. We’ll monitor it. We’ll see where you’re at, and we’ll take care of you.’ ”
Until they see how he responds the next few days, it’s hard to know when he’ll be back on the field. The Bears play the Chiefs Saturday at noon.