With veteran tight end Cole Kmet out for the rest of the season, the Bears are confident that rookie third-round pick Sam Roush will help fill the void.
Kmet sustained a knee injury in the fourth quarter of last Thursday night's win over the Patriots, leaving Roush as the only reserve tight end on the 53-man roster behind starter Colston Loveland.
"We've been very pleased with the improvement that [Roush] has made over these first seven weeks, and so there's a high likelihood that his rep count is going to go up as a result of what's going on here," said coach Ben Johnson.
"We'll be able to see the player that we drafted. We had high hopes when we took him. Very smart player. He had some rookie hiccups early in the season like everybody does, and yet he learns. He doesn't make the same mistake twice, and I'm confident in what he's going to be able to do for us here the back half of the season."
Roush was a three-year starter at Stanford, catching 119 passes for 1,201 yards and four touchdowns in 48 games. Last year the 6-5, 267-pounder was named second-team All-ACC after establishing career highs with 49 receptions, 545 yards and two TDs.
"It's rare to find a tight end coming out of college that has the size and strength to hold up at the point of attack while also having the athleticism to be a threat in the pass game," Bears director of player personnel Trey Koziol said after the draft. "If you can find one of those and then combine it with the intelligence and the football character that Sam has, adding competition and versatility to that room is huge."
Although he didn't want his role to expand because of an injured teammate, Roush is focused on making the most of the opportunity.
"Super tough when somebody like [Kmet] goes down," Roush said. "He's very valuable to our team. Great guy. He's helped me a ton, through camp and the preseason and through the first seven weeks of the season as well. Praying for him. He's going to come back stronger than ever. Super resilient, tough guy. Very smart ballplayer.
"I'll have to step up in the coming weeks, and I feel confident in my ability to do that. I'm happy with the way I'm progressing through the season. I think the last couple weeks have gone really well and feel like I'm really starting to get comfortable with the operation and the offense and everything that goes with it."
Welcome back
Defensive end Montez Sweat has returned to the Bears this week after serving a two-game suspension that was imposed by the NFL.
"I just want to apologize to my teammates, the fanbase, everybody," Sweat told reporters. "But I'm moving forward now."
The eighth-year pro said that missing the two games "was devastating" and that he's "just happy to be back in the building with my teammates," adding: "That's what I missed the most, just being in the locker room around my guys."
Sweat is determined to prove "that I'm still the player that I am," and that "one positive [test] doesn't define my career."
Starting the first five games of the season, Sweat recorded seven tackles and 2.0 sacks. He enjoyed watching his teammates pick up the slack in his absence in back-to-back wins over the Falcons and Patriots.
"Amazing," Sweat said. "It's always in the NFL a next-man-up mentality. They didn't miss a beat."
Sweat praised fellow defensive ends Daniel Hardy and Austin Booker and lauded cornerback Kyler Gordon for recording 4.0 sacks in the last two games.
"As long as [Gordon] gets on the field, he's going to make plays," Sweat said. "It's been amazing watching him pass rush."
Doing the work
NFL teams can elevate practice squad players to their active roster three times in a season without exposing them to waivers. Having reached that limit with running back Zavier Scott, the Bears on Tuesday signed him to their 53-man roster.
Asked what he feels factored into his promotion, Scott said: "I think it's just the consistency of putting the work in every day, and I know it doesn't stop now. It's the same as before … There's an amazing group of guys around me that have poured into me since Day 1, and I'm just very grateful to have this opportunity."
Scott has excelled on special teams each of the past three weeks, registering five tackles and generating a takeaway with a forced fumble on a kickoff return.
The 6-1, 211-pounder entered the NFL in 2023 with the Colts as an undrafted free agent from Maine. After spending part of his rookie season on Indianapolis' practice squad, he appeared in 16 games, all as a reserve, with the Vikings last year, rushing for 114 yards on 32 carries and catching 14 passes for 98 yards and one TD.
"What I've learned over the years is that it's a matter of just going back and doing the work," Scott said. "There's no secret to it. There's no magic wand to wave. It's doing the work."
