Third-year defensive end Dominique Robinson knows he has a couple of weeks left to show the Chicago Bears coaching staff he deserves to stay on the 53-man roster for the 2024 season. The Bears’ fifth-round pick in 2022 has had the benefit of keeping his job due to the noticeable lack of depth at the defensive end since he’s been in Chicago.
The Chicago Bears had high hopes for a Day 3 pick
There was hope that Robinson could be a Day 3 gem due to his 9.39 Relative Athletic Score. However, that didn’t translate to NFL success. He has four sacks in two seasons. Pro Football Focus gave him a 35.3 overall grade for his play last year. He made just seven total tackles for the 2023 season.
The Bears still lack depth at defensive end in training camp this summer. However, the trade for Montez Sweat last season and the addition of Austin Booker in April’s draft have made the competition for a backup spot harder this summer.
Dominique Robinson knows he’s on the bubble
According to Brad Biggs with the Chicago Tribune, Robinson said he came into training camp this summer knowing he was on the bubble:
Defensive end Dominique Robinson, entering his third season, was asked if he arrived at training camp with a now-or-never approach after his 2023 playing time was cut nearly in half from his rookie season.
“Being realistic? Yeah,” Robinson said. “I’ve been put in a position to where, in my head, it’s either I take the spot or … it’s football. It’s a business. I came in trying to prove a point.”
Robinson gained weight this summer to prepare for camp
Robinson prepared before training camp to be better positioned to make the team. He’s up to 273 pounds with eight percent body fat. He had been at 258 pounds previously. He’s hoping the added weight will make him more dangerous off the edge:
“I wasn’t getting it done at the weight I was, and I knew I could put weight on and still be explosive and get faster at the same time,” he said. “So why not? The more you can. To be able to come in at that weight and to get stronger over the offseason, it just helped me become a better football player overall.”
Robinson performed poorly against the Houston Texans during the Hall of Fame Game. PFF graded him 37.5 overall for the contest.
Robinson rebounded with a better performance against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. He recorded one pressure but no sacks on a defense that recorded eight sacks of the Bills on Saturday.
On the first unofficial depth chart, the Bears listed Robinson as their DE2, one spot ahead of Booker. One would assume Booker will take that position before Week 1 of the regular season. Robinson has work to do if he wants to take Jacob Martin’s job for the other backup DE spot.
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