Chicago Bears worst kept secret out, actively shopping Jordan Howard

The Chicago Bears confirmed the worst-kept secret at Halas Hall — they are actively shopping running back Jordan Howard.

Many thought the Chicago Bears were just listening to offers from other teams for running back Jordan Howard. However, head coach Matt Nagy spoke about the running game and gave the impression that they’re looking to improve. That means trading Jordan Howard and drafting a running back.

Almost from the start of the Nagy era, Howard seemed like a bad fit. Nagy likes to spread the ball and use the running backs by committee system. He also likes to have running backs who can be active in the passing game. Howard isn’t that type of back. that needs to keep getting fed the ball. The more he gets the ball, the better he gets.

As you can see from his 2018 season below, Howard is a workhorse who wears down the defense. When he gets the ball regularly, his numbers are good. Not so when the offense is not centered around him.

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• First 11 games: 14.7 carries per game, 48.7 yards per game, 3.31 yards per carry
• Final 5 games: 17.6 carries per game, 79.8 yards per game, 4.53 yards per carry

Howard had 536 yards in his first 11 games. People kept asking what was wrong with him. He had over 1,000 rushing yards in his first two seasons and was way off that target up to that point. In his final five games, though, Nagy gave him the ball more and he rushed for 399 yards to get close to that thousand-yard mark. Additionally, he had five touchdowns in his first 11 games, but had four in his final five games.

Another problem with Howard is that he isn’t an asset in the passing game. He is only a check-down option for quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Tarik Cohen is a back you put into the passing gameplan.

As you can see below, the more you throw at Howard the lower his percentage gets. What the Bears did in the last two years was just throw to him on the sidelines and let him get a few yards when everything else is closed.

• 2016: 50 targets, 29 receptions (58 percent)
• 2017: 32 targets, 23 receptions (71.9 percent)
• 2018: 26 targets, 20 receptions (76.9 percent) 

This bogs down the offense a bit. If everyone on the field is capable of being dangerous in the passing game it puts a lot of pressure on the defense. The more targets Trubisky has short to intermediate range the better chance he’ll have to connect on long passes.

Mike Mulligan and David Haugh of 670 The Score’s morning program Mully and Haugh Show tweeted the thoughts of longtime Chicago Bears beat reporter Brad Biggs. They said Biggs didn’t expect Howard to be on the roster when the Bears host the Green Bay Packers on the NFL’s opening night.

Some fans don’t understand why the Bears are thinking of parting ways with Howard. They think that’s a knock on Howard. It isn’t, however. He is still a good back. The old offensive system under John Fox went to his strengths. The problem now is that if Nagy goes to Howard’s strengths it hurts the offense. That just cannot happen.