The Chicago Bears lost one of their most underrated contributors in the win over the New England Patriots. Cole Kmet suffered a season-ending knee injury that looked serious from the moment he went down after contact.
Ben Johnson claimed the team wouldn't make any move to replace him. He teased that he would use Ozzy Trapilo on jumbo sets more often, but he believes everyone else in the building is capable of holding down the fort in Kmet's absence.
Nevertheless, the Bears' thin tight end room only has one bona fide pass catcher in Colston Loveland. Sam Roush is the next man up, and he'll have to step up as both a blocker and a route-runner after an inconsistent start to his career.
The Chicago Bears need Sam Roush to be much better
While Roush wouldn't be the first rookie to be a non-factor or look a bit lost when he's out there, he's now the next man up. The Bears play a ton of 12 and 13 personnel, and he'll be asked to play more than the handful of snaps he's been given thus far.
Roush has barely been involved as a pass catcher. He has three receptions, one of which went viral for all the wrong reasons after he ran away from his blockers in what could've been a walk-in touchdown or a huge gain.
He hasn't made up for his lack of support as a pass catcher as a blocker, either. According to Pro Football Focus, he's been decent, posting a 64.1 blocking grade. That said, he's been flagged twice and has given up two pressures. He hasn't been bad at containing defenders, but he's not opening up lanes or pushing guys out of the way.
It had been a while since Kmet was more than a blocker, but he was outstanding at that job. He was instrumental in the running game's success, with Colston Loveland handling most of the pass-catching duties.
The Bears will likely make a trade to bolster the defense, but they don't have that much wiggle room to also add another tight end. And with the November 10 trade deadline approaching, they won't have much time to figure out whether Roush is ready for the challenge or not.
The rookie out of Stanford is staring at a golden opportunity, but he won't have any margin for error. This is the pros, and with all teams banged up, the Bears can't afford to wait for the next man up to get it together overnight.
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