The Chicago Bears appear to have pushed all the right buttons on their roster this off-season. Everything from the quarterbacks to the wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, and secondary looks better than it did last season. Even the defensive line got a late jolt courtesy of two trades for edge rusher Darrell Taylor and defensive tackle Chris Williams. However, even this regime isn’t immune to bad decisions from time to time. Based on recent comments from Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, they’ve made one.
Among the more frustrating names of the past two years on the Bears roster, Dominique Robinson ranks near the top. He started out so strong as a rookie, collecting 1.5 sacks in the 2022 season opener. Since then, he has had a half-sack in 27 games. The team insisted up and down that Robinson arrived at training camp bulked up and in great shape. He was also practicing really well. Yet, he has two pressures and no sacks in 34 pass rush opportunities during this preseason.
By comparison, Jamree Kromah, an undrafted rookie who won’t make the roster, had three pressures in 36 snaps.
He does nothing for them. Not only has he been useless as a passer rusher for almost two years, but he’s not even a good run defender. His 33.2 grade from Pro Football Focus last season was even worse than his rookie year. Special teams? No help there, either. It feels like Poles is clinging to hope that Robinson will somehow turn the corner. This is a trap many general managers fall into with their draft picks. Nobody disputes his natural athletic gifts. The problem is many good practice players never figure out how to translate it to games. Robinson is one such example.
At some point, the Chicago Bears need to end this charade. They’ve given the young man three full off-seasons to learn his position. Despite what they may say, there hasn’t been any noticeable progress. Daniel Hardy has done way more to earn a job on this roster. Poles and Eberflus always talk about giving spots to guys who have earned them. Robinson hasn’t earned anything. There comes a time when draft status shouldn’t protect a player anymore. His expired a long time ago.
