D'Onta Foreman in spotlight against Vikings |
Everyone knew the RB room would take a significant hit when the Bears lost David Montgomery through free agency. However, Ryan Poles did a great job trying to fix his absence as they drafted Roschon Johnson and then turned around to add both Travis Homer and D'Onta Foreman via free agency.
Granted, none of them may be as good as Montgomery, but Chicago was still confident enough in the group they had to once again have a great rushing attack capable of leading the NFL again. A big reason for the team's overall success on the ground came from Justin Fields, as he became just the third QB in NFL history to top 1000 yards last season. Unlike last season, Fields isn't running nearly as much, and the Bears rushing attack has suffered a bit because of that. Herbert emerged as a legitimate option last season, especially after Montgomery went down with an injury, which was good enough to earn the starting job this season. He may have gotten off to a slow start to begin the season, but his last few games have seen him look like the Herbert everyone expected, which is good for the Bears. However, all that progress has stopped as Herbert went down with an ankle injury against Washington on Thursday and is expected to miss upwards of a month of action. To make matters worse, Homer went down with a hamstring injury while Johnson was taken out of the game with a concussion, leaving Khari Blosingame as the lone RB on the field, and he is a FB. Given the injuries this team just suffered, it is evident that the RB room is in trouble as the Bears need to piece together a new RB room ahead of Sunday's game with the Vikings. What that looks like remains to be seen, but we could expect to see this. If healthy and cleared to play, Johnson will take over the RB 1 duties, which is excellent for this team. The 2023 fourth-round pick was considered a steal, and after giving the Bears 122 yards on 25 carries, you can see his potential. Johnson hasn't seen the playing time he has hoped for, but if Herbert is out multiple weeks, this could be his time to show what he can do and earn a lot more playing time in the process. Behind Johnson is where the concern is, as the Bears will now need a backup to shoulder the load. Homer is expected to be the backup, but hamstring injuries are tricky, so you need to know how he will respond. Blosingame would be another option, but heading into Thursday, he had three career carries and is better suited for the FB role. If Homer cannot go, you could see Foreman activated after being a healthy scratch most of the season. Signed as a free agent this offseason, Foreman has proven to be a solid RB when called upon, as he has picked up a 1000-yard season to go with several other 800-plus-yard campaigns. For whatever reason, Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy don't believe in him, which is why he hasn't seen time on the field this year. They may not have a choice but to activate him this week as the RB room needs more healthy bodies. What makes this even more interesting is that Johnson may fail to pass his concussion test, leaving the RB room down to Homer and Foreman. Throw in the possibility that Homer's hamstring may not be ready, and you would have Foreman starting with Blosingame as his backup. When the Bears signed Foreman, it was viewed as one of the steals of the offseason and the perfect pickup for running back depth. Yet, the Bears haven't used him at all, and that is just one of the many puzzling decisions this team has made this season. You never want to see injuries happen to anyone, but injuries may force the Bears to not only activate Foreman but also give him more carries than they may want to. That could be a win-win scenario for both parties, as Foreman tends to do better with a bigger workload, while the Bears may realize he is an excellent option in the lineup and even better than Homer. Either way, the Bears will have some tough decisions to make this weekend, but there is a reason why they added depth behind Herbert, and it was for situations like this. Lost in the shuffle of what this team will or will not do, the Bears did sign RB Darrynton Evans and have immediately added him to their roster. Evans has been a No. 3 RB at best and has accumulated just 125 yards on 30 carries throughout his three year career. That included 14 carries and 64 yards last season with the Bears. For an average person, recovery time for a high ankle sprain is generally 4-6 weeks, per medical experts.
I’m told the #Bears are currently waiting on more feedback from RB Khalil Herbert’s response to early treatment on his H.A.S. to determine an IR placement for him or not. https://t.co/YW89Bhb316
