Chicago Bears running back Salvon Ahmed is one of the big winners from the preseason win over the Cleveland Browns. Ahmed was gaining steam in training camp, but a long catch-and-run for a touchdown and high yards per carry as a rusher will have all fans knowing his name.
Ahmed is battling Roschon Johnson and Brittain Brown for the third running back spot and is firmly in the mix to win it.
“He got that slashing mentality where he’s hard to bring down in space, and that showed up again today,” said Johnson. “Showed up in practice, really throughout camp so far.”
However, head coach Ben Johnson made it clear that despite the flashes in the preseason, he still has to show a lot in the next two weeks.
“A lot comes down to special teams,” Johnson added. “We’ll continue to challenge him to find a defined role there on special teams where he can help us out the most there. And then pass protection, how do we continue to improve? When you’re a little bit smaller as a running back… that’s always what I’m looking for is, how well, how stout are we holding up to a blitzing linebacker as well."
It appears as though Johnson is mostly satisfied with him as a runner. If it came down to being a true runner, he would be ahead of Brown and Johnson. However, those two can also do the things that the head coach mentions that separate them.
Ahmed has not been on the field in the regular season since 2023, and when he did, he had just 96 blocking snaps and 110 special teams snaps in his career.
Roschon Johnson had 102 special teams snaps in 2025 and has 386 in his career. To be fair, Johnson only played four offensive snaps last year. Still, he has 182 snaps as a blocker overall.
Brown has less experience than Ahmed and played fewer special teams snaps in the preseason opener. Ahmed might have passed him.
Still, Ahmed also did not block on any of his 17 snaps, while Johnson did for one snap. On top of that, Ahmed did play ten special teams snaps on three different units, as he tries to carve out a role. However, Johnson did not play any special teams snaps, as the team knows his role.
Ahmed has definitely climbed up to the fourth running back spot, but as Ben Johnson highlights, Roschon Johnson still has a skill set that sets him apart from the starters and makes him tough to leave off of the roster.
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