With Montgomery Departing, Ekeler Becomes Target For Bears

David Montgomery sought a bigger contract than the extension he was offered by the Bears, and is jumping across the NFC Central to join the Detroit Lions. He replaces Jamaal Williams, who was both productive and popular in Detroit but wanted more money than the Lions were willing to give him.

So where does this leave the Bears? It makes third-year player Khalil Herbert their top running back, at least for the moment, but more likely puts them in the market for a back who can do more in the passing game than either Montgomery or Herbert.

The Bears are positioned to be a strong player if the San Diego Chargers are unwilling — or able — to sign Austin Ekeler to a contract extension. Adding Ekeler or another two-way threat in the vein of him and San Francisco’s Christian McCaffery would continue one of the primary missions for General Manager Ryan Poles this off-season — give Justin Fields the best opportunity possible to develop into an elite quarterback.

While Montgomery was remarkably durable and consistent in his four seasons in Chicago, he was not explosive as a pass receiver. Montgomery averaged 39 catches a season for 8.0 yards per catch, with the arrow pointing downward in 2021 and ’22 from his career-high 54 catches in ’20. He had only one pass reception for a touchdown the last two seasons.

Herbert, a sixth-round steal in the ’21 draft, averaged 5.7 yards per rush last season but has been largely a two-down back. He has only 23 catches in the 30 games he’s played. He seems set to take on a bigger rushing load but Montgomery’s departure leaves a third-down void.

Pro Football Focus gave Herbert (33rd among 60 running backs) a higher overall grade than Montgomery (40) last season. However, Herbert was ranked 53rd as a receiver. Expect the Bears to seek a two-way threat when they replace Montgomery, either through free agency, trade or in next month’s draft.

The free agent market is not rich with running backs who catch a lot of passes, with Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard and Josh Jacobs having been given franchise tags by their teams. A list of the most intriguing available includes Miles Sanders, Devin Singletary, Damian Harris and Alexander Mattison, none of whom have been two-way threats.

With the Bears in the midst of a multi-year rebuild, Poles has leaned toward younger players. That would seem to eliminate 30-year-old Jerick McKinnon, who was fourth among running backs with 56 catches for 512 yards for Kansas City last season.

Kareem Hunt, a wingman to Nick Chubb in recent seasons, fits the profile the Bears are seeking. He’ll play next season at age 28 but hasn’t been ridden hard since 2017, when he led the NFL with 1327 yards as a rookie in Kansas City. He carries with him the baggage of a domestic violence incident while playing for the Chiefs.

The Bears have 10 first-round picks, including four in the first 64, in the upcoming draft. They could select a two-way back, with Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs and Northwestern’sNWE
Evan Hull seemingly at the top of that group.

Gibbs piled up 1370 total yards last season, including 444 on 44 catches. Hull, UTEP’s Reynaldo Flores and Georgia’s Kenny McIntosh were the only backs who had more catches than Gibbs.

The Bears are expected to use the No. 9 overall pick on a lineman and don’t pick again until 53. They may have to package a couple of high picks to land Gibbs, who is expected to be the first running back taken.

Hull will be on the board a long time, possibly even until the third day of the draft. But he led NCAA running backs with 55 catches for 546 yards and opened eyes at the Senior Bowl. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah compared him to James White, who averaged 60.7 catches a season for a six-season period playing with Tom Brady.

The most intriguing option of all is trading for Ekeler and give him the long-term extension he’s been unable to land in San Diego. He’ll play at 28 next season but has only carried a heavy workload the last two years. His 38 touchdowns the last two years (25 rushing and 13 receiving) are 12 more than anyone else in the NFL.

Ekeler is entering the final year of a four-year, $24.5 million contract, and overthecap.com estimates his market value at slightly more than $12 million. The Bears still have $45 million in cap room after adding D.J. Moore in a trade for the first overall pick and signing free agents Tremaine Edmunds, DeMarcus Walker, Nate Davis and T.J. Edwards.

There’s no major obstacle to a trade, if Poles trusts the longevity of Ekeler enough to feel confident making one. There’s no doubt that having a profilic pass-catcher out of the backfield would be very useful for Fields, who was sacked an NFL-high 55 times last season.

It could be more desirable to trade for another two-way back, with Washington’s Antonio Gibson and Tampa Bay’s Leonard Fournette as intriguing targets. Fournette had 73 catches last season, and PFFPFF
graded Gibson as the second-best receiving back, behind only McCaffery.

The Bears did agree to a deal with running back Travis Homer on Tuesday. But that two-year, $4.5 million deal is aimed more at improving special teams than the backfield. Homer was considered a key player on Seattle’s kick units, which ranked second in Rick Gosselin’s rankings last season. The Bears ranked 24th.