With Montgomery sidelined, Bears may look internally for fill-in

A month ago, Bears general manager Ryan Pace liked his depth at running back. With an injury to David Montgomery, he might be revisiting that assessment.

Montgomery injured his groin after slipping while taking a handoff Wednesday. All indications point to a quick recovery for Montgomery. According to a report from the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the second-year back will miss two to four weeks.

The Bears still could bring in a free agent running back if it's looking like Montgomery might be out four weeks instead of two.

As it stands now, the club has four running backs on the roster in addition to Montgomery: Tarik Cohen, Cordarrelle Patterson, Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce.

Those four combined for 83 carries last year.

"This is the year of the contingency," head coach Matt Nagy said Wednesday. "So, now, this is one without COVID, an injury. What are our options? Do we like where we're at right now? Or do we feel like we need to go outside of the building? That's all stuff that we'll discuss. Whatever we do, we'll do it so that it helps us."

Nagy said "it's possible" a free agent could be ready Week 1, even with COVID-19 testing protocols and limited time to learn the playbook.

Montgomery was the Bears' top running back last season as a rookie. He rushed for 889 yards and 6 touchdowns on 242 carries, while catching 25 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown.

Montgomery came into training camp five or six pounds lighter after changing his diet in the offseason, and seemed poised for an even better sophomore season.

"He's looked amazing," offensive lineman Germain Ifedi said. "We know when we've been able to see the ground game do good things, David's been able to do good things, and that's why we understand it starts with the run game. He's looked great. He's looked quick."

If Montgomery is out only one or two weeks, maybe the Bears take a by-committee approach at the position. No one individual on the roster right now is going to make up for Montgomery's production.

Finding the right balance between those four would be the challenge.

"We're just knocking on wood hoping that he's going to be OK because we really think his future is super bright," Nagy said of Montgomery. "We want to have a long career with him, and he's a guy that you can give the ball to a lot, and he's going to get a lot of yards and he's going to score a lot of touchdowns."

Tarik Cohen

Cohen isn't built the same Montgomery, who is a 220-pound wrecking ball. Cohen (5-foot-6, 194 pounds) didn't find much success running the ball in 2019. He took only four handoffs per game, running for 213 yards on 64 carries (3.3 yards per carry).

His 79 receptions were second on the team behind receiver Allen Robinson, but they only went for 5.8 yards per catch.

While Cohen is a weapon, somebody has to take direct handoffs. When the Bears were at their worst last year, the offense became one-dimensional. When Montgomery was rolling, the Bears moved the sticks more than when he wasn't.

"The way he runs the ball, you can always see how passionate he is about the game," Cohen said earlier this week. "You can see where he comes from in the way he runs."

Cohen said he is ready to "ball out" this season, and his offseason preparation went well. Even so, he doesn't have the same track record of success running the ball.

Cordarrelle Patterson

While Patterson, still technically a receiver, is one of the fastest players on the roster - and was a Pro Bowl kick returner in 2019 - his history at running back is limited. His career high in carries was 42 in 2018 with the Patriots. He ran for 228 yards and one score (5.4 yards per carry). He carried the ball only 17 times last season.

If Montgomery only misses one game, maybe Patterson (6-2, 227) can be the big-bodied back the Bears need. The question is how much they really want to use their kick return weapon there? While Patterson is physically big and exceptionally fast, he he doesn't barrel through linebackers the same way Montgomery can.

Ryan Nall

Nall has limited experience outside of special teams. He carried the ball twice in the season finale last year. However, the Bears like him and have kept him around for a reason.

Pace said before camp that he believed his team has enough depth at running back - and Nall is part of that.

"We're excited about Tarik Cohen and his approach," Pace said in July. "You factor in Ryan Nall, who we like, who's grown here in our organization, and so I'm excited about our running back room. I think there are some new wrinkles this season in regards to (Nagy) and his staff and what they'll do. I think it's a talented room and we like our depth."

A Montgomery absence will test that depth. If the Bears don't make a move in free agency, Nall or Pierce will likely find a way onto the field.

Artavis Pierce

Nall and undrafted rookie Pierce are both former Oregon State running backs. Both are in the top 10 in career rushing yards for the Beavers. Pierce played in all 12 games last season for Oregon State, splitting snaps at running back. He led the Beavers with with 873 rushing yards on 146 carries.

Pierce has had a couple of good runs in training camp. While he's likely stuck behind the other three backs on the depth chart, don't rule out the Bears keeping him on the roster if Montgomery isn't ready for Week 1.