The Chicago Bears have a lot of things to sort through offensively in the next three months. No position is off-limits at this point. Not when the unit finished 27th in the NFL in 2019. They need to do everything they can to bolster the talent from top to bottom. One area that won’t be ignored is running back. Rookie David Montgomery did what he could, going over 1,000 yards from scrimmage but he didn’t show out running the ball too often. Nor did Tarik Cohen.
Part of that was inadequate blocking from the offensive line, something former guard Kyle Long insisted on multiple times in interviews. That said, it feels like there’s room for improvement. If the right player came along, would the Bears pounce? Well, they might receive that temptation in short order. According to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, the Arizona Cardinals are expected to part ways with former All-Pro running back David Johnson.
“He’s scheduled to earn $10.2 million in 2020, with the entire amount guaranteed on the third day of the league year. But Johnson’s production continued to dwindle in 2019. He ran for just 345 yards, caught 36 passes for 370 yards and was benched throughout the season in favor of Kenyan Drake. While it’s not a guarantee that the Cardinals will bring back Drake, Johnson probably will be a casualty of his production and contract going in opposite directions.”
It’s been a remarkable sequence of years for Johnson. He was a burgeoning superstar in 2016, going for 2,118 total yards and 20 touchdowns. Then in 2017, he played just one game before being lost for the year to injury. In 2018, he rebounded with 1,378 total yards and 10 touchdowns. However, upon the arrival of new head coach Kliff Kingsbury this past year, Johnson saw his role diminished until he hardly played.
Now he’ll hit the market at 28-years old.
Johnson is a running back known for his vision and patience. He finds the holes well and hits them with acceleration and power. Perhaps his biggest skill is catching the football. The running back is a genuine threat out of the backfield, able to run multiple types of routes and sports good hands and body control. The exact type of back Matt Nagy wants in his offense. If the Bears are looking for a way to reinvigorate their ground game, pairing Johnson with Montgomery would be a great way to do it.
