The Chicago Bears' rushing attack has found a new life since the bye week. In the last two games, the backfield had their best two games of the season, running for 145 and 222 yards, respectively. D'Andre Swift is in the midst of a bounce-back season, averaging a career-high 4.7 yards per carry. Rookie Kyle Monangai has also gotten more involved in recent weeks, putting up an impressive 81 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown against the Saints in Week 7. While this is excellent news for the Bears' offensive outlook, it doesn't bode well for Roschon Johnson, who is getting squeezed out of the rotation.
Johnson has hardly been involved all season, firmly falling behind to RB3 status in the pecking order. He has only played four offensive snaps and carried the ball twice, once for an 11-yard run and another for six yards in his five games so far. Instead, he has almost exclusively been used on special teams.
Roschon Johnson's Time with the Bears May Be Coming to an End
For a player who was a big part of the offense last season as a downhill, powerful runner, this must be disappointing. Johnson ran for six touchdowns last season and was a trusted player in red zone situations.
From the start of this season, however, nothing has gone according to plan for the third-year player. He missed Week 1 with a foot injury and didn't touch the ball on offense until Week 5. Just when he was getting integrated into the offense, Monangai and Swift both had their best games of the season.
To complicate matters even more, Johnson has missed two practices in a row this week with a back injury. This puts his availability for Week 8 in jeopardy. This is especially concerning for Johnson now that Travis Homer has returned from his calf injury and made his season debut against the Saints. Homer hasn't played a big role in the Bears' offense since joining the team in 2023, but he is another body Johnson now has to compete with in the RB room.
When everyone is healthy, the Bears don't really need four running backs in their active roster, especially since none of them has return duties on special teams. Johnson has clearly fallen out of favor in Chicago, and instead of letting him lose more of his trade value, it may be wise for the Bears to trade him in exchange for some draft capital at the November 4 deadline.