With other needs that seemed far more urgent, the Chicago Bears took tight end Sam Roush in the third round (No. 69 overall) in April's draft.
On the other hand, as Cole Kmet likely nears the end of his time in Chicago, a long-term running mate for Colston Loveland is a need. Ben Johnson also likes to use "12" personnel, and if he wants to lean into the league-wide trend toward more "13" personnel this season, the TE3 spot is a need after the departure of Durham Smythe in free agency.
The exact plans for Roush as a rookie seem to be flexible and naturally subject to change. If Kmet ends up being traded at some point before the deadline, with other teams likely driving that possibility more than general manager Ryan Poles actively shopping him, Roush would be vaulted into the TE2 role.
Sam Roush's immediate role in Bears' offense could be sneakily important
ESPN's Ben Solak recently visited the Bears' training camp. The fantasy football notes he came away with won't move the needle for managers as draft season ramps up, but Roush was a focus of his sentiment on that front.
"I saw a lot more Sam Roush with the first team than I expected. The rookie tight end out of Stanford was a draft darling of mine. At 6-foot-6 and 267 pounds, with a rugby background, Roush is capable of displacing defensive ends in one-on-one assignments. The Bears experimented with No. 3 tight end Durham Smythe as a fullback in 2025, and I'd wager we see Roush in that role -- with increased frequency -- in 2026. Smythe had 335 snaps throughout the regular season and playoffs. Roush might push 400."
"If he's biting into anyone's snaps, it should be from Cole Kmet rather than Colston Loveland. Loveland is the sun of the Bears' solar system of receivers, and he's a great pair with Roush, who can line up inside Loveland as a blocker more readily than Kmet can."
According to Pro Football Focus, Smythe lined up as a fullback for 87 of his 334 offensive snaps last season. In terms of player alignment and usage, very little, if anything, is out of bounds for Johnson. Using Smythe as a fullback for 26 percent of his snaps was sneaky evidence of that in his first year as Bears' head coach.
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Outside of a situation we don't want to give any airtime to by detailing at all, Roush is not going to be in a position to dent the stat sheet all that much during his rookie season. But his overall role is in line to be fairly important to how the Bears' offense functions, especially if it frees Loveland of some blocking responsibility.
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