Chicago Bears 3 Potential cuts to make to free up salary cap space

Chicago Bears cut candidate No. 2: Tarik Cohen — $4 million

In 2020, the Chicago Bears surprisingly extended running back Tarik Cohen’s contract. Many expected that to happen to wide receiver Allen Robinson, who had the first of his back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

The Bears gave Cohen a three-year, $17.25 million deal, with over $9.5 million guaranteed. Of course, with the team’s luck, Cohen went out and promptly tore his ACL in Week 3 of that season.

Cohen hasn’t been seen since that injury. While we see other players recover in about a year (and someone like Cam Akers in just a few months), Cohen hasn’t sniffed the field since his injury.

While some might say that everyone’s body is different, and that is true, Cohen himself revealed recently that a big reason for the absence has been because of his fear of getting re-injured.

"I’m scared to come back a different player not the same when I was. I won’t let myself come back before I’m ready and before I feel I can put the same performances on that I was putting on before I got hurt."

While Cohen spent the 2021 season battling his confidence, the Bears found themselves another good running back. Rookie Khalil Herbert opened eyes, especially when starter David Montgomery went down for four weeks. Herbert figures to play a bigger part in the offense in 2022.

A $4 million break is a nice chunk of change for the team trying to rebuild the roster. Backup running backs are pretty cheap to come by so Cohen could find himself out of Chicago when the new league year begins.