The Chicago Bears rallied behind a revamped offensive line and one of the most efficient running games last season. Having D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai wreak havoc out of the backfield took plenty of pressure off Caleb Williams' shoulders.
Given how his offenses looked in Detroit, that formula won't change in the second year of the Ben Johnson regime. Monangai may -- and should -- carve a bigger role for himself while Swift takes a backseat in the last year of his contract, but the volume of carries should remain pretty much the same.
That's why, not that the Bears have signed former Miami Dolphins running back Salvon Ahmed, Roschon Johnson should call his realtor. The writing is on the wall, and he won't be in the Windy City for much longer.
The Bears will likely move on from Roschon Johnson
Johnson was already facing an uphill battle to make the roster or have a significant role. The former fourth-round pick has seen his playing time go down since he had 352 rushing yards on 81 carries as a rookie three years ago, only playing four offensive snaps last season. Injuries limited him to seven games, and his 2 carries for 17 yards didn't do much to move the needle.
The Bears have a clear No. 1 and No. 2 right now. Even if Monangai gets a bigger role in year two, he and Swift will handle the bulk of the work. Then, they have Brittain Brown, Deion Hankins, undrafted rookie Coleman Bennett, and the recently signed Ahmed.
Of course, this isn't about whether Ahmed will have a sizable role in the offense; he might not even make the 53-man roster. Nevertheless, the fact that general manager Ryan Poles keeps adding bodies to the RB room at this point in the offseason shows that he's not fully satisfied with his depth options.
Johnson offers some value as a special teams guy, and he'll enter his fourth year with the organization, so that might work for something. That said, running backs coach Eric Bieniemy is no longer with the team, and that leaves the door open for the other guys to also make their case to be the Bears' RB3.
Playing for a contending team comes with some risks for mid and low-tier guys. Johnson would've probably had a better chance to carve a bigger role for himself in the Bears of old, but this team isn't here to mess around.
| More Bears News and Rumors |
Add us as a preferred source on Google