Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson has had a rollercoaster 2025 season that took another turn on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears announced that they’re placing Johnson and veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds on injured reserve, which means they will miss at least the next four games. Johnson popped up on the injury report on Thursday with a thumb injury, which was not a good sign.
This was the last thing Johnson wanted to hear, as this could be the first step towards his Bears’ career potentially coming to an end.
Coming into this season, the former fourth-round pick was already seen as the odd man out in the Bears’ backfield with the addition of rookie running back Kyle Monangai.
Through 11 weeks, Monangai has firmly solidified himself as the RB2 in Chicago, making the former fourth-round pick irrelevant. Between that and now this injured reserve stint, Johnson is giving the Bears all the ammunition to move on in the offseason.
Roschon Johnson Is on Thin Ice After Being Placed on Injured Reserve
The 24-year-old running back has not been able to escape the injury bug this season, which has played a part in his current role on the team. Johnson missed Week 1 with a foot injury and then Weeks 8 and 9 with a back injury.
When he was healthy, Johnson wasn’t getting much playing time on offense (four snaps). He had one carry for six yards in Week 6 against the Washington Commanders and one carry for 11 yards against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7.
It was shocking to see Johnson get a carry against the Commanders, as he has been relegated to a special teams role, which makes sense for an RB3. That said, when Bears GM Ryan Poles took him in the fourth round in the 2023 NFL Draft, they didn’t envision Johnson being solely a special teams contributor.
Coming out of Texas, the hope was that Johnson would be Chicago’s RB2 and maybe RB1, but with D’Andre Swift joining the team in 2024 and then Monangai earlier this year, the plan for the former Day 3 pick changed.
In his rookie year with the Bears, the 6-foot, 227-pound running back had 561 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns on 115 touches, giving Chicago fans hope. However, last year, he saw his production drop off with the addition of Swift.
Johnson only had 254 scrimmage yards on 71 touches, but scored six rushing touchdowns (all inside the red zone).
With Ben Johnson coming on board earlier this year as head coach, the idea of the third-year running back being David Montgomery in Chicago’s offense did not sound too far-fetched.
However, as we previously alluded to, Monangai made an early impression on Johnson and the rest of the coaching staff, becoming the thunder in the backfield.
Looking ahead to next season, Johnson remains under contract for one more year with a cheap $1.23 million cap hit, per Spotrac. That said, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Bears cut or trade him.
It would be considered another draft “miss” for Poles, but Johnson’s future in the Windy City is cloudy at best. And the Bears could easily find his replacement either in the NFL draft or in free agency. A fresh start could benefit both the Bears and Johnson.