Roquan Smith’s holdout centers on new NFL helmet-contact rule

The contract impasse between the Bears and rookie linebacker Roquan Smith centers on language governing whether Smith’s guaranteed money could be reclaimed by the team if he were suspended under the new NFL rule that prohibits a player from initiating contact with his helmet.

“That’s part of the issue,” coach Matt Nagy said Saturday.

Meanwhile, four additional league sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that is indeed the root of Smith’s holdout, which on Saturday reached its 13th day.

Smith’s representatives at CAA Football are asking the Bears to include in the contract a written assurance that the team would not go after any of Smith’s guaranteed money if he were suspended under the new rule, the sources said. They all requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations.

The Bears have resisted putting that specific protection in writing. Instead, they have informally assured Smith’s representatives that they would be reasonable in assessing disciplinary action by the league against Smith under the new rule, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace has not been available to media since July 19. Smith’s representatives could not be reached for comment.

There’s fertile ground for an impasse because of how prominently tackling ranks in Smith’s responsibilities on the field, and because of significant leaguewide uncertainty surrounding how the new rule will be officiated and enforced by the NFL.

Although that rule creates a new dynamic for rookie contracts this year, the Bears did work through an applicable situation last season.

The team did not seek to reclaim any guaranteed money from inside linebacker Danny Trevathan after he was suspended for an illegal hit on Packers receiver Davante Adams.

Management deemed Trevathan’s infraction to be the result of a normal football play without malicious intent. The Bears did not want to punish Trevathan further and risk discouraging players from aggressively pursuing the ball with physicality.

Given Smith’s exemplary reputation for tracking and tackling ballcarriers, the new rule surely will apply to his game. It reads simply: “It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent.”

The contact doesn’t have to be helmet to helmet, and it applies to offensive and defensive players just the same. An infraction would result in a 15-yard penalty.

A player is subject to ejection under the rule if he “lowers his helmet to establish a linear body posture” and had “an unobstructed path to his opponent” and the “contact was clearly avoidable.” Ejections are subject to video review in the league’s in-game replay center in New York.