Chicago Bears: Risky free agents that could pay off
By Ryan Heckman
Running Back Jay Ajayi
Dating back to his rookie year in 2015, Jay Ajayi has never played a full 16 games. That, in and of itself, is quite a scary fact. But, despite that fact, he has still been a pretty good running back when healthy.
I am sure everyone remembers his 200-yard explosions with the Miami Dolphins back in 2016. That year, he finished with 1,272 yards on the ground — a career-high. Following his big year, though, Ajayi was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 2017, he played seven games with each team. With the Eagles, he rushed 70 times for 408 yards — a 5.8 yard-per-carry average. Before his trade to Philadelphia, Ajayi rushed 138 times for 465 yards — a 3.4 yard-per-carry average.
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Clearly, playing for a better team and under a coach like Doug Pederson helped Ajayi’s productivity.
Two things to tough on quickly. First, Nagy comes from the same coaching tree as Pederson and also runs an innovative offense. Second, for the Bears to pursue Ajayi, it would likely mean moving on from Jordan Howard.
If the Bears move on from Howard and took a shot on Ajayi, they would also need to have a third back capable of stepping in if need be. If there’s one thing we know about Ajayi, it’s that his knees are anything but a sure thing.