The Bear’s Den, April 21, 2022

THE DAILY SPONGIE SPECIAL

BEARRRSSSS

Bears set high bar for Roquan Smith as defensive leader - RSN - Matt Eberflus was a linebackers coach for nine years, so the spotlight will shine brightly on the position group.

David Montgomery Plays Coy When Discussing a Potential Bears Extension - Bleacher Nation - Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery enters the final year of his rookie deal unbothered by extension talk.

Roquan Smith Sees Himself as a Long-Term Fixture With the Bears "That's the Plan" - Bleacher Nation - In a whirlwind NFL where trade requests are a growing norm, Roquan Smith expresses his desire to stick around.

David Montgomery ready to hit the ground running - Chicago Sun-Times - Based on his success in offenses that ranked 29th, 26th and 24th in yards in his first three seasons, Montgomery figures to be a key beneficiary if the Bears’ offense improves under new coordinator Luke Getsy.

Bears miss Khalil Mack: ‘I learned a lot from him’ - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears’ trade of Khalil Mack to the Chargers caught his teammates off guard. They still don’t seem to have recovered.

LB Roquan Smith ‘absolutely’ envisions staying with Bears on contract extension - Chicago Sun-Times - This should be an easy deal to make. Both sides have said they want to work something out, and Bears GM Ryan Poles ideally wants it done before the season starts.

Roquan Smith: Chicago Bears LB not focused on new contract - Chicago Tribune - As Roquan Smith enters the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, his role on the Chicago Bears defense is as important as ever.

Chicago Bears Q&A: Potential targets in Round 2 of NFL draft? - Chicago Tribune - With the Chicago Bears at minicamp and the NFL draft approaching, Brad Biggs answers questions about their potential targets and what their offensive line might look like.

Bears’ Roquan Smith, David Montgomery bring professional approach, leadership to new regime - The Athletic - The Bears' new staff has to be pleased to inherit players like Smith and Montgomery to help establish a new foundation.

CHGO Bears Podcast: Day 2 Observations from Chicago Bears Minicamp - CHGO - The guys share the latest updates from Day 2 of Chicago Bears minicamp at Halas Hall.

Chicago Bears voluntary minicamp: Top takeaways from Day 1 - CHGO - What happened on the first day of Bears voluntary minicamp? Here are the top takeaways from everything that went on at Halas Hall.

Bears will expand running back roles in new offense - RSN - New Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has been charged with building a new offense to help Justin Fields.

Bears' David Montgomery, Roquan Smith aren't focusing on contracts - RSN - The Bears running back and linebacker are each heading into the 2022 season on expiring deals.

Dannehy: Expect New Bears Leadership to Target “Trench Guys” Next Week - Da Bears Blog - While fans debate which wide receiver the Chicago Bears should draft, the trench guys running the team just could go in a different direction. Matt Eberflus indicated as much in his interview with Cris Collinsworth, released last week:

Bears’ David Montgomery not focused on his contract future - 670 The Score - Bears running back David Montgomery is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, but he isn’t worried about whether he’ll reach an extension with the team.

Roquan Smith hopes for long-term future with Bears - 670 The Score - What comes next for linebacker Roquan Smith and the Bears is unclear. He’s set to play the fifth year of his rookie contract, but reaching a long-term deal might not be a simple process for a player who doesn’t have an agent.

KNOW THINE ENEMY

Lions and Packers Among Teams Potentially Interested in Trading for Deebo Samuel - Bleacher Nation - This Deebo Samuel situation has been escalating rather quickly this week.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Deebo Samuel has asked the 49ers for trade - ProFootballTalk - Yes, the 49ers and Deebo Samuel are on the outs.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Infante’s 2022 NFL Draft: What ESPN’s draft predictor has Bears picking - Windy City Gridiron - ESPN’s algorithm has the Bears taking an offensive-heavy approach in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Duerrwaechter: The Case For Justin Fields - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears may finally have their franchise QB. But, it’s not a guarantee either.

Sunderbruch: The Odds are Against Justin Fields - Windy City Gridiron - Here’s why Josh believes the odds are stacked against the sophomore quarterback turning into the franchise-saving player that Chicago wants him to be.

JACOB INFANTE’S DRAFT GUIDE

Jacob Infante’s 2022 Draft Guide - Patreon - Here is how to access to Jacob Infante’s 2022 NFL Draft guide, featuring scouting reports, his entire big board, a 7-round mock draft, Bears-related content, and more.

THE RULES

Windy City Gridiron Community Guidelines - SBNation.com - We strive to make our communities open and inclusive to sports fans of all backgrounds. The following is not permitted in comments. No personal attacks, politics, gender based insults of any kind, racial insults, etc.

Windy City Gridiron Podcast Channel which includes Bear With Me from Robert Schmitz, Bears Over Beers featuring Jeff Berckes & EJ Snyder (their BOB YouTube Channel can be found here), Bears Banter hosted by Bill Zimmerman, Rule of 3 with R. Schmitz, Danny Meehan, and Brandon Robinson, Bear & Balanced from Jeff and Lester A. Wiltfong Jr., and T Formation Conversation from Lester; EJ also co-hosts The Bootleg Football Podcast with Brett Kollmann; R. Schmitz has a film breakdown show on YouTube titled Run Pass Opinion; Will Robinson II has his WhiskeyRanger YouTube channel, and Steven’s Streaming Twitch Channel from Steven Schweickert.

Click on our names to follow us on Twitter: Jeff Berckes; Patti Curl; Eric Christopher Duerrwaechter; Kev H; Sam Householder; Jacob Infante; Aaron Lemming; Ken Mitchell; Jack R Salo; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Rahul Ramachandran; Will Robinson II; Robert Schmitz; T.J. Starman; Robert Zeglinski; Bill Zimmerman; Like WCG on Facebook.