Cole Kmet Injury Will Force Struggling Bears Rookie into Significant Playing Time

With Cole Kmet likely headed to IR, it's now or never for third-round rookie Sam Roush.

Chicago Bears TE Cole Kmet takes the field prior to a game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If there's one blackmark on the Chicago Bears' sensational primetime win over the New England Patriots on Thursday night, it's the pair of injuries they suffered in the second half. Rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad, who has quickly proven to be Chicago's best cornerback, went down with a toe injury in the third quarter, one play after making a huge pass breakup.

He was listed as 'Doubtful' to return, and that was no surprise. But the Bears don't play their next game until Monday night of Week 8, which is 11 days from last night, and the hope is that this mini-bye will give Muhammad the time he needs to return to the field.

There was one more Bears injury in the second half that may prove to be far worse. Cole Kmet took a hard hit along the right sideline late in the fourth quarter after a short catch and run. Unlike Muhammad, Kmet was carted off to the locker room and almost immediately ruled out. Making matters worse, head coach Ben Johnson confessed after the game that Kmet's injury didn't look good at all.

We'll find out more after some tests are done on Friday, but for now it's probably safe to assume the worst. The Bears are likely to be without their TE2 for the forseeable future, and that means struggling third-round rookie Sam Roush is about to be tossed into the deep end and told to sink or swim.

Sam Roush's rookie season hasn't lived up to the hype

Chicago Bears TE Sam Roush after a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the Bears' more perplexing picks of the 2026 NFL draft was Stanford tight end Sam Roush. Selecting a third-string tight end with a Top 100 pick didn't seem like a wise use of resources, but a strong training camp and preseason, which included a great joint practice against the Tennessee Titans, seemed to indicate that the Bears got another draft steal.

Unfortunately, success in practice doesn't always translate to the regular season, and Roush is finding that out the hard way. The rookie has struggled mightily ever since the Bears' ugly loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, and hasn't earned a single target in any of the last three games. He also made a critical special teams error in Week 3 that gave the Philadelphia Eagles about 18 extra yards for their drive.

In a word, Roush's debut NFL season has been disastrous. As a third-round pick, he's expected to look much better than he has to this point. But Kmet's injury is going to force the Bears to lean more on Roush, and this could be exactly the opportunity he needs to turn his career around.

The Bottom Line

Chicago Bears tight end Sam Roush (87) runs after the catch at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's way too early to write off Roush's NFL career, but he does need to step things up a notch or two, and he needs to do that soon. If he continues to struggle, I would expect to see the Bears call up eight-year veteran Stephen Carlson from the practice squad to take over the TE2 role until Kmet returns.

Whether it's Carlson or Roush, however, there's no denying that Kmet's injury puts the Bears in a tough spot. Ben Johnson loves to use multiple tight end sets on offense, and a 1-2 punch of Colston Loveland and Kmet is about as good as it gets. Luckily for Bears fans, we already know Johnson can adapt his game plan to account for injuries, and they'll just have to trust the head coach to make the right decisions.

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