It was a little surprising when the Chicago Bears decided to draft a tight end in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft. However, Sam Roush is not a typical tight end prospect.
During his four years at Stanford, he excelled as a pass catching tight end and is expected to be used more like a wide receiver in Chicago’s offense this season. So far through training camp and the preseason, Roush has shown some flashes of what he is capable of. However, head coach Ben Johnson said the consistency is not there yet and that is not surprising given what is expected out of a tight end in his offense.
"He’s building that trust," Johnson said. "There’s flashes where he gets you really excited. Is it at the level of consistency that we want yet? The answer
is no - and I’m not surprised by that either. Yet I think he’s going to be a phenomenal football player for a long time in this league."
Johnson’s offense is notorious for putting a lot on the tight ends. Last season, tight end Colston Loveland needed some time to learn the offense as a rookie and it does not seem much different with Roush. The goal right now is to get him to play faster so he can be better in the long run.
"It’s just there’s a lot of thinking. There’s a lot on the plate for a rookie tight end," Johnson said. "I think it’s right up there with quarterback just in terms of the amount of mental strain that we put on these guys: run game, pass pro, route running. And the faster we can get him to play, the better off he’s going to be in the long run."
There is still time for Roush to learn the offense and increase his consistency before Chicago’s season opener against the Carolina Panthers on. Sept. 13, and he will also be learning and improving throughout the regular season like Loveland did last year.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson shares update on Bears rookie TE Sam Roush's progress
