Good News As: Bears Named Best Fit for Packers’ 2nd…….
Bears Named Best Fit for Packers’ 2nd-Round Pick in Free Agency….
The Chicago Bears will be on the hunt for another running back this offseason, and current NFL.com analyst Maurice Jones-Drew, who knows the position well, has pegged pending Green Bay Packers free agent A.J. Dillion a perfect fit.
The Bears will have RBs Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson under contract next season. They’ll need to replace D’Onta Foreman, however.
The 6-foot, 235-pound Foreman played in nine games (eight starts) for Chicago during the 2023 season. He rushed for 425 yards and 4 touchdowns on 109 carries (3.9 yards per carry) and he also caught 11 passes for 77 yards and a score. Those aren’t huge numbers, but his absence will leave a void in Chicago’s RBs room.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles hasn’t shown a big tendency to spend money on the running back position, and it’s not likely he’ll do it this offseason. That might make Dillion, who is headed for free agency, a viable option for the Bears.
The Bears will surely have a focus on the run game after adding offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and Dillon can both tote the rock and block with equal effectiveness. Injuries sidelined him a bit during the 2023 season, and his numbers weren’t as good as they were in previous seasons.
“Dillon has missed Green Bay’s last two games due to neck and thumb injuries, and prior to that, he averaged a career-low 3.4 yards per carry in 2023. Still, when Dillon’s healthy, I think he can provide a team with a hard-nosed, physical running back to wear down opposing defenses late in the season,” Drew wrote on January 17, adding:
“That’s why I’ve paired him with Chicago, where he could join Khalil Herbert in the backfield and produce in cold-weather games. With Justin Fields potentially playing elsewhere in 2024 — opening the door for a rookie at quarterback