Getty Chicago Bears LBs Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith
Danny Trevathan says he was just starting to play the best football of his career before a gruesome elbow injury ended his 2019 season. “I was just getting started, man,” the Chicago Bears veteran linebacker said via Zoom Friday. “I was just touching the tip of the berg.” Trevathan went down in an early November contest against the Lions, and didn’t return the rest of the season. He started nine games, getting a sack, a forced fumble and 70 tackles in that span.
The 2019 season was a disappointing one for Trevathan and the Bears for a number of reasons. There were the injuries, from Trevathan’s to Akiem Kicks’ elbow to Roquan Smith’s torn pectoral. There was regression on both sides of the ball, which resulted in an unfortunate 8-8 record, and there were the leftover, shattered expectations after the team went 12-4 and made the playoffs the previous year. Trevathan tasted that disappointment fully, and he says that despite his elbow injury and shortened season, he hasn’t missed a beat.
“How do I get back to that? I never lost it,” the veteran linebacker said. “I just can’t wait to go out there and [pick up] where I left off.”
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Danny Trevathan: I Want to Be Remembered in Chicago
Trevathan wasn’t shy about sharing his lofty yet-doable goals for the future: “I want to be remembered. Legacy lives on forever … you always want to leave something behind that can be remembered of yourself,” he said, noting that he wants to make some history of his own. Trevathan won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in 2016, but he would love to bring another trophy to the Windy City before he leaves.
“This is such a great tradition of linebackers the Bears have. I want to be up there, and to do that, I have to make plays. A Super Bowl, definitely would put a stamp on that … I feel like we’re so close right now,” he added.
Trevathan also shared how anxious and eager he and his teammates are to get back on the field.
“We haven’t had it,” Trevathan said about practice. “So guys are kind of like fiending for it, scratching their neck to go outside. All this walk-through stuff is totally necessary, but it’s slow. It’s not real football.”
You can view Danny Trevathan’s Zoom conversation below:
Bears’ third-year linebacker Roquan Smith also met with the media via Zoom Friday, and he seems just as hungry as Trevathan is to resume the season — while also making his mark.
Roquan Smith: ‘I Feel Like I’m 100 Percent’
The Bears selected Smith eighth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, and after he saw his sophomore campaign cut short due to a torn pectoral muscle, Smith says his offseason rehab has gone extremely well, noting he feels better than ever. “I feel like I’m at 100 percent for sure,” Smith said. “My mindset right now, I feel like I can definitely do some nice things this year.”
Smith reported to camp five pounds heavier, noting he is now 234 pounds after adding some muscle. He said he’ll probably shred a few pounds during training camp, but like many of his teammates, he has been taking his workouts as serious as ever this offseason.
“I feel great, physically, mentally,” Smith said. “I’m very, very excited for this year, and I feel like I’m excited for this season in particular, to show the world what I can do.”
You can watch Smith’s Zoom call below:
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