Chicago Bears: 5 Cut candidates sitting on roster bubble

4. Tarik Cohen, Running Back

Yes, this is a shocker. I told you there could be some popular players who could find themselves unemployed. Tarik Cohen is popular but he’s lost some of that popularity.

Okay, stay with me here. Cohen had a pretty bad season in 2019. Look at the chart below to see how bad his season was.

• 2018: 99 carries, 444 yards, 4.4 yards per rush; 71 receptions, 725 yards, 10.2 yards per catch; 33 punt returns, 411 yards, 12.5 yards per returns, 8 total touchdowns
• 2019: 64 carries, 213 yards, 3.3 yards per rush; 79 receptions, 456 yards, 5.8 yards per catch; 33 punt returns, 302 yards, 9.2 yards per return

As you can see, Cohen had a big drop from 2018 to 2019. Yes, many people put a lot of blame on the poor offensive line and quarterback play. However, some of it is on him. There were plenty of times he ran east and west instead of north and south. Running east/west sometimes allows you to gain some yards but running north/south always gets you yards.

Cohen even admitted that recently on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/TarikCohen/status/1274363502887686146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Cohen will have to start running forward more than sideways in camp and in preseason games. He has to find a way to run without looking for the sidelines. If he can’t he could find himself looking for a job elsewhere.

Cohen might get a battle from undrafted rookie Artavis Pierce. At 5-foot-11, 208 pounds, he is bigger than Cohen so he could run north/south and not worry about taking a beating. He could dish out some beatings himself. He also has return experience so he could help there as well.

There is also a plethora of wide receivers on the roster. The Bears could go with extra receivers if they want and that could be bad news for Cohen.

I’m not saying Cohen won’t make the team. He probably will. Just like Mitchell Trubisky, however, it could do him good to have some competition to push him. Remember, there are some jobs on the line in the front office as well as on the field.

They need to field the best team possible or they’ll see themselves unemployed. They don’t want that so if they need to replace a popular player then so be it. Cohen probably plays well and makes the team but crazier cuts have happened.