30 Most Important Bears of 2026: Sam Roush (No. 29)

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for a hyped 2026 season, where they’re looking to build off their impressive first season under head coach Ben Johnson, which included an NFC North title and a wild-card playoff win. While they found success in 2025, it’s a brand new slate for this Bears team following an offseason of change, including the departures of key veterans and the additions of new veterans and exciting rookies.

The work begins in training camp, where Johnson will put his team through the wringer with the intent to prepare them for the 2026 season. Every day from now right up through training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2026 season. We’ll recap their 2025 season, look ahead to 2026 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.

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Up next in the series is tight end Sam Roush, a rookie out of Stanford who should factor into Ben Johnson’s offense sooner rather than later.

• Position: Tight end

• Age: 22

• Experience: 1st season

• 2026 cap hit: TBD

Roush made the most of his final season at Stanford by standing out as one of the best weapons on the offense. In 2025, Roush caught a career-best 49 passes for 545 yards, with two touchdowns in 12 games. He finished second on the team in receptions and yards, trailing only wide receiver CJ Williams. His 545 receiving yards led the ACC among all tight ends, and he totaled five games with more than 50 receiving yards. Combine that with his ability to hold blocks on the line, and Roush became a desirable tight end going into the NFL Draft.

The Bears saw enough in Roush to make him a Day 2 pick, selecting him with the No. 69 overall pick after trading down from their original second-round pick. The selection was initially seen as a surprise considering the Bears have Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet in their tight end room. Loveland is a budding superstar, while Kmet is a proven veteran who excels as the in-line player. Roush makes a strong room even stronger, and he will see enough snaps considering Johnson isn’t shy about running 13 personnel (the Bears were third in the league in that personnel in 2025). His importance will only grow as he continues on with his career. Now, if he can just get his contract signed, he’ll be ready to roll for training camp.

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Roush will no doubt see snaps on offense and should get more involved as the season progresses. Johnson has shown the desire to ease his rookie players into the game plan, after all. But eventually Roush should be a significant contributor when the playoff races get underway. Will he be playing in front of or behind Kmet when that happens, though? Kmet and Loveland were able to co-exist since each player plays the position differently than the other. Roush projects to be more of an in-line tight end like Kmet rather than an outside player like Loveland, and while there is room for all three on the field, one will see more opportunities than the other. We’ll see how fast Roush gets up to speed and if he can leapfrog Kmet in the pecking order.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 30 Most Important Bears of 2026: Sam Roush (No. 29)