Dark Horse’s trading partner could bring Roquan Smith closer to home

A Dark Horse candidate who could potentially trade for Chicago Bears linebacker and former Georgia soccer star Roquan Smith would have to be his “hometown” Atlanta Falcons.

With Roquan Smith unhappy about his Chicago Bears Contract situation, could Atlanta Falcons hop in and trade for the former Georgia and Macon County native football star?

Smith is playing his fifth-year option out of Georgia this season. Although he hasn’t been a Pro Bowler with Chicago for four years, the former All-American and Butkus honoree is undoubtedly the best player on the Bears roster right now. With the new regime of general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus not valuing him, it’s no wonder he wants out.

Other teams might be interested in trading for Smith, but let’s not rule out the Dirty Birds just yet.

Because of this, Atlanta could be a dark candidate for trading the former Georgia soccer star.

Atlanta Falcons match Chicago Bears former Georgia Football LB Roquan Smith

Aside from your own family and alma mater, no one will love a soccer player more than the guy who drafted him. That would be former Bears general manager and current Falcons senior staff executive Ryan Pace. After failing in Chicago, Pace reunited with his former New Orleans Saints sidekick Terry Fontenot as part of his Falcons’ front office. You have acquired bears.

The Falcons may not be very good either, but these dirty birds are picking up bears faster than Zoo Atlanta was at its peak. They may not be menacing, but Pace and Fontenot seem to share similar team-building philosophies, for better or worse. If things go well, Mickey Loomis might regret letting this duo out of the Metairie building. If it fails, well guess who’s coming home?

Looks. Atlanta is probably little more than an extreme dark horse to trade for Smith at this point. They have their own linebacker mayhem with formerly good Deion Jones. Maybe the bears and hawks want to swap players? Of course, no trade is as seamless or clean in execution NFLbut one thing is certain: Smith would be a better fit in Atlanta than Jones is now.

How well would it fit? Just look at how former Bears return specialist and current Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson reacted to the news. The man, who is planning to retire in Atlanta, changed his profile to Smith in Georgia uniform. Remember that Patterson played for Georgia’s bitter SEC East rivals Tennessee in Rocky Top for a season before deciding to turn pro.

Ultimately, the Patterson and Falcons fans have no control over how Fontenot and Pace want to toughen their staff. However, the stars indicate that the local son may come home.

When a bad product makes a comeback, signing a UGA star is one way to keep Falcons fans happy.