March 30, 2019: Howard’s End

In the midst of Opening Day and March Madness, the Bears slipped in a significant move.  Jordan Howard was shipped off to the Eagles for a 2020 6th round pick.  I’m not liking it.

Yes, I know it’s been talked about forever… the fact that Jordan Howard doesn’t fit in this offense, the fact that the Bears have been shopping him, the fact that the Bears have been exploring other guys at the RB position.  So yes, it wasn’t a surprise, but still.  The first thing I thought is that we should have got more.  Somebody reminded everyone that Howard himself was a 5th round pick, and that in some scenario, the 6th round pick we acquired can become a 5th round pick… so what’s your point?  Just because we acquired him in the 5th round doesn’t mean that we should have received comparable compensation for where he was drafted.  That’s like saying the Patriots would trade Brady for a 6th round pick…  Jordan Howard was certainly worth more than that.  Yes, I know he’s in the last year of his deal, and yes, he will want to get paid as an “older” RB next year who doesn’t have elite speed or pass catching ability, but still…

The fact that he was in the last year of his deal at a cheap price is exactly why the Bears should have kept him.  So we don’t get an additional 6th round pick next year?  So what!?!  It’s all about THIS year.  And when you’re going for it all, like the Bears will be doing, you need to cover everything.  So who replaces Howards this year?  I love Cohen, but he’s not an every down back.  Mike Davis?  Really?  Cordarelle Patterson?  Sure, he’ll be in the backfield for some gadget plays.  Are we not going to run the ball this year?  Jordan Howard may not fit into Nagy’s offense, but there will be games, where Nagy’s offense will NOT be working.  At that point, you need a plan B, like somebody to run between the tackles… like someone to tote the rock a dozen times in a half… setting up that play action.  What about those weeks when the weather is shit?  Guy like Howard would come in handy.  And he did improve his pass catching skills last year… and he wasn’t complaining in the locker room… great teammate.  So why not hold onto him for 1 more year and then let him walk?  If that brought the Super Bowl to us, it would be worth it.  If this moves leaves an opening, a weakness on this Bears team, that may prevent us from winning a key game when it counts, then shame on us.

I want to trust Pace and Nagy.  Overall Pace has been good.  Nagy was all that and then some in his first year.  Both took home some hardware this offseason.  So yeah, it seems like they know what they’re doing, but that doesn’t mean I can’t question this move.  Maybe the backfield is not set yet; maybe we’ll fill that opening and not have a weakness…. it certainly is not full this minute.  The fact that Howard was a great team guy bothers me too; it would have been different if he was complaining about his role, etc; maybe he said more than we know.  But this sure looks like dumping somebody who didn’t need to be dumped.  And oh yeah, we help the Eagles out too…???

I’ll shut up for now.  But I remember what one of our weak links was last year… yeah, that didn’t come back and bite us in the ass.  When going for it all, we need to have everything covered that we can possibly cover.  Losing a back like Howard makes the RB position on this team weaker, and for what… a 6th round pick… NEXT year no less???  It’s all about THIS year.  Hard to imagine there will not be another RB or two on the roster come the start of the season.  But will they be as good as Howard?  Because making our team weaker this year can certainly not be the plan here… waiting for the next move.  Bear Down!