Chicago Bears Quietly Looking At Interesting RB Name

Running back was already a question mark for the Chicago Bears going into this training camp. Things haven’t gotten better. While D’Andre Swift remains the unquestioned starter, the depth behind him has taken a considerable hit. Roschon Johnson still hasn’t returned from a foot injury suffered over a week ago. Kyle Monangai didn’t play in the preseason game against Buffalo due to an undisclosed injury sustained in the joint practice. Worse still, both Deion Hankins and Travis Homer are hurt as well. The Bears already had to sign Brittain Brown as an emergency free agent.

Now they might be considering another move. The NFL transaction wire revealed that Chicago had three running backs in for a tryout on Tuesday.

• Royce Freeman
• Kylin James
• Dillon Johnson

By far the most interesting name of the bunch is Freeman. A former 3rd round pick, he had a decent run in Denver, averaging 4.0 yards per carry. Unfortunately, he never managed to claim the starting role. Since then, he’s bounced around the league as a part-time back but didn’t play last season. James was a highly productive college back for Central Arkansas and UNLV. Johnson had an outstanding 2023 season for Washington, scoring 16 touchdowns, but went undrafted and hasn’t played in any NFL games.

The Chicago Bears need bodies for the preseason finale.

Right now, there is no reason to think their top trio of Swift, Monangai, and Johnson will miss the regular season opener. Homer is also a shoo-in because of his ability to play special teams. Any move the Chicago Bears make is about finding depth and somebody who can log snaps in practice and the preseason finale against Kansas City. From a pure fit perspective, Freeman is the name to watch. He has a good mix of strength, contact balance, and vision that would fit well in Ben Johnson’s offense. Speed isn’t his thing, but he’s shown he can be reliable in this type of offense. If nothing else, it will get his name back out there and the Bears might have another option for the practice squad.