Dec 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Dante Rosario (88) makes a catch against Detroit Lions strong safety James Ihedigbo (32) during the second half at Soldier Field. Detroit Lions defeat the Chicago Bears 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Bears re-upped with veteran tight end Dante Rosario on Thursday on a one year contract. Rosario will be back with the Bears for his third season after they acquired him from the Dallas Cowboys for a 7th round draft pick back in September of 2013.
In his two seasons with the Bears, Rosario has started six of the 31 games in which he’s appeared. He’s got 17 catches for 129 yards in those two seasons. Dawson is also a special teams contributor with seven tackles.
Dawson is a journeyman having stints with the Panthers, Dolphins, Broncos and Chargers before coming the Bears via Dallas. He compiled 99 catches for 1100+ yards and 8 TD’s in 91 games across six seasons before joining the Bears in 2013.
Dawson has played for John Fox before in both Carolina from 2007-2010 and with the Broncos in 2011.
I’m a little surprised the Bears brought Rosario back. He had a -4.7 grade from PFF for his work at tight end and didn’t exactly distinguish himself on offense. The Bears already have Martellus Bennett entrenched as the starter and brought the oft-injured Zach Miller back on a 1-year deal in addition to developmental projects Jacob Maxwell and Blake Annen on the roster. The Bears had been looking for a blocking tight end, but Virgil Green chose to return to the Broncos. You would think a big blocking tight end, especially for a John Fox team that plans to get back to running the ball and playing defense, would be important. We’ll see how the tight end battles shape up in training camp.