The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers will face off Sunday night, where Aaron Rodgers is staring down a 0-1 record to start the season following a rough 23-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Heading into Sunday night’s matchup against the Bears, one player Rodgers certainly would like to avoid is linebacker Roquan Smith, who is coming off a solid outing in last Sunday’s downpour at Soldier Field.
In fact, Rodgers told the Green Bay media on Wednesday that “wouldn’t have minded” if the Bears traded Smith this offseason. Smith and the Bears reached a standstill in contract talks and things got ugly with Smith requesting a trade. It was rejected, and both sides have turned their attention to this season.
Makes sense, considering Smith’s physical style of play and his importance in stopping the run game. There are also concerns about Green Bay’s offensive line heading into this matchup as both starting tackles David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins and left guard Jon Runyan could miss the game.
“He’s a difference maker,” Rodgers said of Smith. “He’s a sideline-to-sideline LB. He’s an excellent rusher. He can cover. He can do it all.”
Aaron Rodgers said today that he wouldn’t have minded if the Bears traded Roquan Smith during training camp.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 14, 2022
In seven career games against the Packers, Smith totaled 47 tackles, including three for a loss, and two pass breakups. Smith welcomes the challenge of facing Rodgers.
“The guy is one of the greatest to ever play the game, and as a competitor myself, I love going against people like that,” Smith said. “I’m sure he’ll be a little bit [angry] after this last game. Hey, you wouldn’t want it any other way — get the best version of him, then we get the dub, and it will be even sweeter.’’
The Bears already pulled off an upset in Week 1 over the 49ers. Can they make it two in a row and send Rodgers and the Packers to a 0-2 start?
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