Bears RB Roschon Johnson (concussion) did not practice on Wednesday. That doesn't bode well for his chances of being cleared in time for this weekend's game vs. the Vikings. We know that RB Khalil Herbert (ankle) will miss that one. And RB Travis Homer (hamstring) also missed Wednesday's practice. It's looking like D'Onta Foreman will be up as Chicago's lead back against Minnesota.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that Bears RB Khalil Herbert is expected to miss "multiple weeks" after injuring his right ankle in Thursday night's win over Washington. That could give rookie Roschon Johnson a shot to lead the backfield. Though Johnson came away from the Washington game with a concussion that puts his Week 6 in doubt. RB Travis Homer is also dealing with a hamstring injury. So we might be looking at D'Onta Foreman as Chicago's top back for next Sunday's home date with Minnesota. We'll keep watching the situation throughout the coming week. But Foreman at least makes sense as a waiver wire option in Week 6.
Bears RB Roschon Johnson sustained a concussion in the first half of Thursday night's game vs. the Commanders. We'll track his progress through the protocol next week.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert had easily his best outing of the season in the Week 4 loss to the Broncos. He led Chicago with 18 carries and 103 yards, a strong 5.7 yards per carry. Herbert also caught four of five targets for 19 yards and a TD. Herbert played well -- and played well ahead of RB Roschon Johnson, who finished with five carries and one target. But this game was more about Denver's pathetic defense than anything in Chicago's offense. Herbert is a potential sell-high this week if you can find a competitor that views him as a top-25 RB. He gets a tougher draw against the Commanders in Week 5, although that's followed by plus matchups vs. the Vikings, Raiders, and Chargers.
Bears rookie RB Roschon Johnson tallied 8 carries for 38 rushing yards and 2 catches on as many targets for 11 yards as a receiver in Week 3 vs. the Chiefs. Neither he nor anyone on the Chicago offense were particularly effective in this poor outing, though this game is notable because Johnson ended up out-touching teammate Khalil Herbert. Herbert logged 8 total touches for 35 yards on Sunday and may have potentially lost his grip on being the lead back. This development will be worth considering ahead of Week 4 vs. the Broncos.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert garnered just 7 carries in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. He took those for a solid 35 yards (5.0 per rush), while ceding the other 4 RB carries to rookie Roschon Johnson. Chicago ran the ball just 16 times for the game, including four rushes for QB Justin Fields. Herbert edged Johnson 3-2 in targets but caught just one for 23 yards. RB D'Onta Foreman was a healthy scratch for the game, leaving Herbert and Johnson splitting all the work. But the Bears went 68.6% pass for the game, even leaning that way in the first half. If Chicago continues to enjoy playing from behind so much, Herbert will struggle to get enough touch volume to be fantasy viable.
Bears RB D'Onta Foreman will be a healthy scratch for today's game vs. the Bucs, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. That'll turn a three-way committee into a two-way committee with RBs Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson. Pelissero confirms that Johnson is expected to see an increased workload today. The rookie would still be a shaky Week 2 fantasy start, but he's worth grabbing if available in your fantasy league.
Bears RB Khalil Herbert struggled in Week 1 vs. the Packers, tallying only 27 rushing yards on 9 carries in the divisional loss. He also added 3 catches on 5 targets for 37 yards as a receiver. Despite winning the RB1 job outright in training camp, Herbert fell victim to rookie Roschon Johnson vulturing a goal-line TD in the fourth quarter of play. Johnson also received more targets (7) and only 2 fewer touch opportunities than Herbert in Week 1. The distribution of the RB workloard was so messy that it’ll be tough to trust any Bears back in Week 2 vs. the Buccaneers. However, that shouldn’t stop fantasy managers from checking Johnson’s availability off the waiver wire in deep leagues.
We saw different usage in the Bears backfield in Saturday's preseason finale vs. the Bills. RB Khalil Herbert played the first- and second-down snaps on the first two drives. But he was replaced by RB Roschon Johnson for 3rd-and-10 and 3rd-and-11 snaps. RB D'Onta Foreman played the third drive. Herbert remains the top fantasy option in this backfield, but it doesn't look like his role will be as valuable as we thought after the preseason opener, when he played all seven of QB Justin Fields' snaps.
Bears RB Roschon Johnson’s first-team reps have “increased every week since camp opened,” per The Athletic’s Adam Jahns. In addition, Jahns mentions D’Onta Foreman as a potential “surprise cut.” Khalil Herbert is locked in as the lead back right now. But Johnson is an intriguing late-round stash for an offense that should continue leaning run.
According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, Bears HC Matt Eberflus said on Wednesday that RB Khalil Herbert "hasn't done anything to lose the job" of being the team's starter. Eberflus also mentioned that rookie Roschon Johnson "has done a nice job competing" but didn't say much about the other Chicago backs. This news certainly bodes well for Herbert's odds of carrying a majority of the workload this season. Of course, QB Justin Fields will have his share of rushing attempts that take away from him. But if Herbert continues to stave off his backfield competition, he'll be a solid RB3/flex candidate in lineups in 2023. See where Herbert slots in our current RB rankings.
You've probably seen Bears RB Khalil Herbert's 56-yard catch-and-run TD in Saturday's preseason opener by now. But the more important note from that game was that Herbert was on the field for all seven of QB Justin Fields' snaps. RBs D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson didn't play at all with the first-team offense. It's a small sample -- and Herbert obviously won't be a 100% snap rate player in the regular season. But the first glimpse we've gotten of this 2023 Bears offense has Herbert looking like the clear lead back. He's climbing our RB rankings.
The Bears' first "unofficial" depth chart lists rookie RB Roschon Johnson third. He unsurprisingly trails incumbent Khalil Herbert and veteran free-agent pickup D'Onta Foreman. Reports have had both working ahead of Johnson in training camp. An earlier version of the depth chart also had Johnson behind Trestan Ebner and Travis Homer, but Chicago corrected that. These early depth charts can often prove to hold no value, and Johnson will need to work past at least one veteran to find 2023 fantasy relevance. But he's in a decent spot considering the limited career production of Herbert and Foreman. None of the Bears' backs cracks the top 36 in our RB rankings.
ESPN's Courtney Cronin reports that RBs Khalil Herbert and D'Onta Foreman "have been involved in the passing game quite a bit" in early training-camp practices. That has included "check downs, screens, short passes," she added. Herbert has been the assumed first guy up in Chicago's backfield, so it's not a surprising report for him. It's especially noteworthy for Foreman, however. He has just 23 total receptions since entering the NFL in 2017. Rookie Roschon Johnson not making that note adds intrigue. It was reported soon after Chicago drafted him that Johnson impressed with his passing-game aptitude, including both receiving and blocking. It's early, of course. And this doesn't look like a good offense for RB target counts overall. But we'll certainly keep watching the Bears' backfield competition -- and potentially shuffling our RB rankings.
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