Thankfully the Jordan Howard trade buzz is dying again after a brief scare last week. Top insiders continue to say there is nothing happening on that front. Howard was and remains a valued member of the Chicago Bears offense. Sure he doesn’t fit the new scheme of Matt Nagy perfectly, but one doesn’t throw away productive players on such a whim (please do not look up the name Greg Olsen).
Jokes aside, trading Howard doesn’t seem like something GM Ryan Pace will do. He’s shown he isn’t in the business of trading players he’s drafted. The only players he’s dealt are ones drafted by previous regimes or were distractions to the team. Howard doesn’t fit any of those criteria. So it’s okay to rest easy on that.
However, this doesn’t mean the issue with him as a long-term member of the roster is closed. There is something else that people haven’t yet considered about him.
Jordan Howard trade worries are unfounded but money is another issue
Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times brought it up during his recent draft analysis. His initial question was whether or not the Bears would draft Penn State star Saquon Barkley if he fell to #8 overall. Something fans continue to debate. However, there was another, more searching question hidden beneath the surface of that. Even if he would trade Howard, would Pace pay him?
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“Only the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott and the Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell have rushed for more yards than Howard (2,435) in his two seasons in the NFL. No one else in the top 12 was drafted as low as Howard, a fifth-round pick in 2016.
That makes him cheap, too. Howard has another two years left on his rookie deal. The Bears’ appetite for Howard’s next contract is a different debate. Perhaps it’s telling that general manager Ryan Pace has yet to devote substantial resources to the position, financial or otherwise, in his three years at the helm. He has let Matt Forte walk and selected Howard, Tarik Cohen and Jeremy Langford on the third day of the draft.”
Indeed both Howard and Cohen are on rookie contracts.
Benny Cunningham returned on the cheap. To this point, Pace has devoted the lion share of salary cap elsewhere on offense, particularly wide receiver and tight end. He also must set aside a considerable amount for the new contract Mitch Trubisky will command a few years down the road.
So where does that leave Howard? If he continues his run of success he’ll be in his right to demand top dollar. That means the Bears would likely have to pay him upwards of $8-9 million per season. Much of that depends on what Le’Veon Bell receives from the Steelers or another team within the next year. While Howard will have earned the deal, it’s a fair question to ask if Pace would pay it.
He’s proven quite good at managing the salary cap since he took over but there’s only so much money to go around. Sooner or later, if things progress as hoped, the Bears may have to make a sacrifice. Letting Howard walk in free agency would be high on that list.
