Heading into training camp the conventional wisdom amongst most of the One Pride nation, both media and fans, was that tight end Michael Roberts was going to be a key piece of the offense.

With Eric Ebron and Darren Fells gone from above him on the depth chart, the second-year big man from Toledo was widely anticipated to be in line for a much bigger role. But Roberts has not had a good camp.

He’s struggled to get separation with his plodding speed and lack of twitch and wiggle in his routes. The blocking looks acceptable but still a work in progress. Roberts missed some sessions with an ankle injury.

Then there are the drops. Two of those came on Saturday during the intrasquad scrimmage.

The second of those drew the ire of coach Matt Patricia, who had seen enough of Roberts being one of the bigger reasons why the first-team offense was underwhelming (to be kind)…

Roberts did not reenter the game. After practice, he quickly exited the field and discreetly slunk past the media.

Could his unimpressive summer cost him a roster spot?

It would be a blow to GM Bob Quinn to have to dump the 2017 fourth-round pick so quickly. Roberts has to show more reason to stick around than his draft investment, however.

Luke Willson has flown past him as a receiving option. So has underrated Hakeem Valles, a practice squad player last season who made several nice catches over the late-week practices. Big Levine Toilolo is a proven blocker who offers the same wide target in the short passing game that Roberts does.

It seems unlikely the plug gets pulled on Roberts, but the new coaching staff needs to see reasons why he belongs on the 53-man roster above the likes of Valles and Sean McGrath, another veteran newcomer. It’s a roster battle to watch play out over the first couple of preseason games.