As the Chicago Bears sit in their bye week it is time to reflect on all of the changes made throughout the season and improvements that could still lie ahead. Among the expected improvements is rookie tight end Sam Roush, who has very quickly found himself in a far more important role. This is due to the season-ending injury to Cole Kmet, putting Roush in the spotlight and giving the Bears reason to consider putting the pass catcher into an increasingly important role.
Heading into the bye week, Roush has had a very limited impact offering only five catches on 56 receiving yards. Still, the effort is clearly there as the rookie is engaged as a blocker and showing the level of energy you hope to gain from the position. With this in mind, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Bears begin to hand Roush an increasingly important role, one that will result in more targets and far more consistent snaps.
A big part of this is the fact that Rome Odunze and Luther Burden are both having solid seasons and are going to demand far more attention moving forward. Roush has a chance to be the forgotten man and perhaps begin to play a slightly larger role. While the construction of the offense will never allow for the tight end to be a focal point of the offense, there is a leap to be taken.
Roush could have a larger role as well based on the fact Ben Johnson is likely to employee heavier sets coming out of the bye week. Kyle Monangai is expected to return and the Bears can return to the two-headed monster that helped define the offense a season ago.
Bears Tight End Sam Roush Has Been Put in Position to Earn Promotion
Roush being utilized more so as the Bears are going to deploy both backs makes a great deal of sense. It will be interesting to watch how the pass catcher's role develops and whether or not there is any clear leap made after the bye week. It wasn't the plan for Roush to become so important so quickly as the franchise worked towards the future with the belief Kmet would be a consistent presence.
It will be interesting to watch how aggressive Johnson and Chicago's coaching staff opts to be when it comes to the development of the rookie. There is no arguing this is an offense more than capable of making a Super Bowl run and Roush could go from an overlooked role to a minor one.
Chicago has plenty of time to sit back and prepare for the final stretch of the season with a late bye week that unquestionably benefits the Bears in what continues to be an incredibly difficult road, one that perhaps will include a heavier dose of Roush.
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