Despite having an impressive rookie season relative to expectations, Chicago Bears wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher told the Chicago Tribune's Fred Mitchell that he knows his roster spot for 2012 will need to be earned. After the team added new passing weapons during the offseason, Sanzenbacher is competing to simply make the team next season:
You've got to do whatever (it takes). There are a lot of guys, a lot of talent in that room. They brought some new guys in. The best guys are going to stand out in the end. Got to make plays, got to keep yourself in it.
Since last season, the Bears have traded for Brandon Marshall and drafted Alshon Jeffery to bolster a group of receivers that had been considered to be a weakness. This has bumped Sanzenbacher down the depth chart, leaving him to compete with another acquisition, Devin Thomas, for the sixth wide receiver spot on the active roster.
In 2011, Sanzenbacher caught 27 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns over 16 games, including one start. An undrafted 23-year-old out of Ohio State, he set a career high in Week 5 by making six catches for 64 yards against the Detroit Lions.
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