The Chicago Bears have drawn a lot of frustration with how they’ve handled their tweaks to the final roster in the past week. A big reason is their utter lack of action at running back. David Montgomery suffered a groin injury in practice. One that initial estimates said could keep him out as many as four weeks. This put his status in question for the opener against Detroit. People called on the team to add a veteran of some sort. Yet the Bears remained silent. Had they gone mad? Not really and Tarik Cohen revealed why.
The fourth-year back spoke to the media on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming game and status of the offense. Sure enough he was asked about the status of his backfield teammate. Cohen, ever the candid type, indicated that the injury was blown way out of proportion. From his vantage point, it would be a surprise if Montgomery doesn’t play.
If true, this explains why the Bears haven’t made any sort of noteworthy move at running back. Head coach Matt Nagy was predictably coy about the second-year back. He said Montgomery would have a great “stretch day” but not much else. In other words, the Bears intend to protect him from further injury until game day.
Tarik Cohen and Montgomery need to show up
One thing is clear. That tandem will need to be considerably better than it was in 2019. With Mitch Trubisky remaining at quarterback, the running game must do whatever it can to ease the pressure on him. Montgomery averaged 3.7 yards per carry last season. Cohen was just 3.3. That is not going to cut it this time around.
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The Bears made some changes to their offensive system this offseason. Germain Ifedi slides into the right guard spot and Juan Castillo is the new offensive line coach. It’s expected both of them will help to instill the offense with more of a physical mentality. If that proves true, the two running backs should have a lot more success.
