Ryan Poles has proven one thing since he took over as GM. He sees the same concerns with the roster as Chicago Bears fans do. Unlike some of his predecessors, he is always active in trying to fix them. There were legitimate concerns going into the summer that the Bears didn’t have enough depth along their defensive line. It was why he traded for edge rusher Darrell Taylor and defensive tackle Chris Williams last week. However, that wasn’t enough. The injury to Zacch Pickens leaves the team thin on the interior.
Poles decided to stay on the attack. Shortly after roster cuts concluded around the league, he made a push to lure veteran Sam Roberts away from the New England Patriots to sign on the practice squad. The belief is he will get the call-up to the roster for week one.
While that might not be a popular name among casual fans, it appears to be a quality addition based on the reaction of some Patriots fans to the news.
For one, he’s big at 6’5, 300 lbs, and has 33.5-inch arms. He is also a solid athlete, posting a 5.14 time in the 40-yard dash. The production in college reflects this. Roberts had 18.5 sacks for Northwest Missouri State. It was enough to get him drafted in the 6th round two years ago. Though he hasn’t gotten much playing time since then, he did have a sack and seven pressures in 86 pass rush snaps between 2022 and 2023. There could still be some unexplored potential for the Bears to uncover. Ryan Poles knows he’s putting Roberts in capable hands with Eric Washington and Travis Smith, two proven defensive line specialists. If they can squeeze a pressure or two out of him each week this season, this will be a great addition.
