Will Bears start Roquan Smith? He’s ready for ‘1 quarter or an entire game’

Roquan Smith didn’t start Sunday, but he finished.

When the Bears needed their defense most — up six with about 2½ minutes to play against the Packers — Smith took the field, rather than starter Nick Kwiatkoski.

The rookie played the first two downs of the drive before the Bears replaced him with a cornerback in dime coverage — and immediately gave up a 75-yard touchdown to Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb.

Still, Smith’s presence during the most critical drive of the game was proof that the Bears consider him ready for prime time.

Smith, who played only eight snaps in the opener, should see his playing time skyrocket Monday against the Seahawks, even if he didn’t want to speculate about it Wednesday.

“Just, really, [give] 100 percent effort and do everything to the best of my ability, and I feel like everything else will take care of

itself,” he said.

“Whatever Coach feels like is best for me as far as playing time-wise, if it’s one quarter or an entire game, whatever that may be, I’m just with it.”

Earlier this week, inside linebackers coach Glenn Pires said Smith was tuned in on the sideline during Sunday’s game after making strides since returning from a tight left hamstring. Smith missed the first 29 days of training camp because of a contract standoff and hurt his hamstring during his second practice. He didn’t practice in full again until last week.

“All I’m going to say on that is, he’s on the right track,” Pires said. “Had a good week last week, had a good start and we’re just going to build from there.”

How fast can they build? Smith would provide the Bears a burst of athleticism against Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who, like Rodgers, is known for extending plays with his feet. The Bears drafted Smith eighth overall because of his sideline-to-sideline speed and his ability to play pass coverage.

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The Bears like Smith as a pass rusher, too, and will scheme ways to get him matched up against a pass-blocking running back. On his first snap Sunday, Smith blitzed and collided with Ty Montgomery, knocking the running back down, and sacked DeShone Kizer only after the quarterback slipped away from a diving Khalil Mack.

“It was awesome — you know, first snap, actually having a sack,” Smith said.

The Bears were concerned about Smith’s stamina, but he said that he felt “great” in limited action. The game didn’t feel that different from college, either.

“Obviously people are bigger and a little faster — and I guess the mental side of things — but other than that, I don’t really see any really crazy differences,” he said.

“From the little experience I do have, I just feel like it’s just ball — just on a different level.”

Smith has worked hard since he ended his standoff, safety Eddie Jackson said, but coaches “just want him to learn his playbook, and he’ll play more.”

Smith said he felt comfortable in the huddle against the Packers.

“I knew the game plan going into the game, so I felt like I can do that to the best of my ability,” he said. “And I pretty much knew everything, so it wasn’t anything where I was like, ‘Oh I don’t know what to do in these cases and scenarios.’ ”