Bears' Roquan Smith Says He'll Play This Week After Missing One Game For "Personal Reasons"

Linebacker Roquan Smith, who didn’t have an injury designation, was a last-minute scratch this past Sunday before the Bears played the Vikings. As mysterious as his absence was, it seems that it’ll only be a one-week blip.

After Bears head coach Matt Nagy only made things more confusing on Monday, Smith returned to Bears practice today and told reporters that he will play against the Raiders in London this weekend. Smith repeatedly referred to whatever caused him to miss the game as a “personal reason.”

The circumstances of the Bears linebacker’s deactivation are still unclear. Nagy only referred to a “personal issue” on Monday and provided no context whatsoever. Smith reportedly showed up briefly in the locker room during Tuesday’s media session after practice only to be whisked away by a staffer. Before the deactivation, Smith had reportedly “not been acting like himself around the team facilities for the past week or so,” though ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson had no details beyond that.

Smith’s teammates spoke vaguely about his absence, but both Danny Trevathan and Khalil Mack expressed confidence.

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