Roquan Smith returns to Bears practice following mysterious deactivation

The Chicago Bears have remained tight-lipped about what’s going on with linebacker Roquan Smith, but the 22-year-old Smith is good enough to return to practice. Head coach Matt Nagy announced that Smith is expected to return to practice Wednesday after missing Sunday’s game for “personal reasons.”

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Smith was a surprise inactive prior to the Bears’ 16-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Smith was present for the contest, and even watched the game from the sideline. Smith left the game without speaking to media. When asked about the situation Sunday, Nagy would only say Smith was out due to “personal reasons.”

Since then, the Bears have remained silent about the issue. Smith appeared in the team’s locker room Tuesday while the media was present, but media relations members “sent him back,” according to Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times, which made Smith unavailable for interviews.

While the entire situation has some fans concerned for the promising Smith, Bears players are downplaying the situation.

Smith said he’s moved past the personal issue and plans to play in Week 5.

Smith, who was selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, emerged as a budding star on a tough Bears defense during his rookie season. He is expected to emerge as an even bigger playmaker in Year 2. Despite missing Week 4, Smith still ranks third on the team with 24 combined tackles.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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