Roquan Smith Confirmed to Be Traveling With Bears to London Game vs Raiders

Though the Chicago Bears put forth a dominant display on the defensive side of the ball against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 without stud linebacker Roquan Smith, the team will surely want him back on the gridiron sooner rather than later.

The second-year LB missed out due to undisclosed personal reasons, but the Georgia product appears set to return to action in Week 5 amid speculation earlier in the week.

After being a full participant in Wednesday's practice, insider Ian Rapoport reported that Smith is traveling with the Bears to London ahead of their clash versus the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, giving him a serious chance to suit up across the pond.

As he pledged earlier in the week, #Bears star LB Roquan Smith is accompanying the team to London, I’m told. A good sign as he looks to return from an absence for personal reasons.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2019

The No. 8 overall pick in 2018 hasn't posted the mind-boggling stats thus far that we grew accustomed to him logging in his rookie campaign -- he's logged just 24 combined tackles and one tackle for loss through three games -- but the sheer importance of his presence cannot be understand.

The threat of Smith getting to the quarterback on any given play frees up room for the likes of fellow studs Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks (not that they necessarily need it) to wreak havoc.

Bears LB Roquan Smith has always carried himself like a true professional, mature beyond his years, so when sources tell @DanGrazianoESPN that Smith hasn’t been acting himself lately, that is obviously concerning to the Bears.
— Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) October 1, 2019

Let's just hope that Smith is in the right state of mind to play this weekend. We don't have to lecture you on the importance of mental health in this league.

At this rate, however, the budding star is looking on the right side of "probable" to feature in the tilt.