Chicago Bears LB Roquan Smith: 'I will play this week'

Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith said he will play in Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders in London after missing the team's previous matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

Smith, who was a surprise inactive for Sunday's game against the Vikings, refused to discuss the nature of the personal matter that forced him to miss the contest.

"I will play this week," Smith told reporters Wednesday before practice. "I'm good. It was personal. It's behind me. I'm just looking forward to getting better today out at practice and going back to work with my guys."

Smith was a full participant in Wednesday's practice. Before the practice session, he said the NFL mandated he speak to the media about the personal matter.

"It was just a personal issue so I'm moving forward," Smith said. "I'm past the situation now actually. Just addressing it because I have to."

League sources told ESPN and the Chicago Sun-Times that Smith spent Tuesday working out at Halas Hall. Despite his involvement with the team, the linebacker hadn't been acting like himself around the team facilities for the last week or so, according to ESPN.

Smith, who wasn't listed on the team's official injury report last week, was declared inactive for Chicago's game against the Vikings due to the personal issue. He was downgraded to doubtful about 20 minutes before the list of inactives came out.

"The whole thing with Roquan, I'll say this, and I said it to you guys the other day; as far as understanding where you all as the media are coming from, I totally get that," Nagy told reporters Wednesday. "But hopefully, you guys can respect me and respect us and where we're at and how we're handling this thing.

"There's some privacy to this and that's all that we're asking. That's why I'm giving you the answers that you're getting. It's nothing personal towards you guys, but it is a personal issue and we're going to leave it at that."

Smith, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, recorded a team-high 121 total tackles in 16 regular-season games (15 starts) for the Bears last season. He was credited with six combined tackles in the Bears' win over the Washington Redskins in Week 3.