Linebacker Roquan Smith’s second season with the Bears didn’t go as well as his rookie campaign.
The Bears went from NFC North champs to out of the playoffs while Smith went from appearing in every game to missing four of them. He spent one game on the bench for personal reasons and then missed the last three weeks of the year after tearing his pectoral.
On Wednesday, Smith told reporters on a conference call that he’s “in a great place” after going through “some adversity” last season and that he expects to bounce all the way back during the 2020 season.
“First and foremost, it’s just about me,” Smith said, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I’ve got a huge chip on my shoulder. [I’m] just really excited. I don’t want much hype going into this year because I know my mindset and what I plan to do this upcoming season. [If] I stay healthy, I definitely feel like it’s going to be my best year to date and I feel like I’m gonna do some things. A lot of people counted me out. So I’m gonna get back to who I really am and do pretty much everything the way I want to do [it] and make myself the best possible player I can.”
Smith called the coming year “huge” for his career and it will likely help determine whether talks about a contract extension get underway once Smith is eligible to sign one after the season.