For the past couple of years, Khalil Herbert had established himself as one of the Chicago Bears’ most reliable running backs. He had 1,342 yards and six touchdowns over the past two seasons. However, it appears the arrival of D’Andre Swift in free agency spelled the end of his time with the team. Herbert was eventually demoted to healthy scratch over the past few weeks. Rumors began popping up that he could be available at the trade deadline. Sure enough, the news finally dropped.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, he goes to the Cincinnati Bengals for a 7th round pick. It might not be the return a lot of fans wanted, but the fact the Bears got anything for him at all should be respected. Herbert will be a free agent next spring. His trade value was never high. Now Chicago has eight picks in the upcoming draft.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was said to prefer more inside-zone rushing schemes. Khalil Herbert found most of his success in the outside-zone variation, which Luke Getsy ran in 2022 and 2023. When he managed only 16 yards and eight carries through the first three games, his fate was sealed. Chicago moved to a combination of Swift and Roschon Johnson, which seems to have worked well enough. It is unfortunate things reached this point. Herbert is a good player. Sometimes, the system just doesn’t have a place for you. Still, the Bears got way more out of the former 6th round pick than anybody expected.
