Howard traded to...

[ASHKUM BEAR]

The Bears have traded Jordan Howard to the Eagles for a 6th rd pick.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Just now, ASHKUM BEAR said:

The Bears have traded Jordan Howard to the Eagles for a 6th rd pick.

Ha, was just getting ready to post.  Several stories confirming same including this:  https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2822780-jordan-howard-traded-from-bears-to-eagles-for-2020-draft-pick

Personally  not a fan especially since it seems they got a steal for a 6th round pick next year.  I see the Davis acquisition making more sense but still concerned since he has no track record where Jordan does.  But oh well, here we go.  

[BearFan PHX]

As Ive been saying all along - a low draft pick for a player like Howard is a bad deal, but a low draft pick for a player like Howard for only one year makes more sense. Howard was never resigning here. You want to build your offense with chemistry for the long haul and have players that run the kinds of plays you want to run.

Trading a bad player is easy, but no one wants them. Trading a good player that youre only gonna have for one more year makes sense. The Patriots do it all the time. We just havent had the roster to make those kinds of moves before so they seem weird to us. Pace is doing great.

[adam]

6th rounder in 2020 = a 7th rounder this year. What the hell? This was a bad move IMO. There was no need to do this now if it wasn't a 2019 draft pick. There are so many injuries in the preseason that we could've gotten more for him at that point for a RB needy team. Head scratcher for me. I know he wasn't great, but how many RB's are his age averaging 1100 yards get traded for 6th round pick in next year's draft?

To me he was at least worth what we drafted him at, a 5th rounder this year, or a 4th rounder next year.

This has to be a Nagy-Pederson deal where they "owe" us later.

If we let Howard walk after his 4th year, and he signed for any decent deal after, we would've had a comparable comp pick. Now Philly can do that, and basically get their pick back or better.

[Stinger226]

There doing Howard a favor and at least getting something for him. If he gets X number of touches,  it ramps to a 5th rounder. His touches were going to go down,  so it created less value for jordon on the open market.  Nagy wants to push the offense forward,  he thinks Howard bogs it down.

[BearFan PHX]

3 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

There doing Howard a favor and at least getting something for him. If he gets X number of touches,  it ramps to a 5th rounder. His touches were going to go down,  so it created less value for jordon on the open market.  Nagy wants to push the offense forward,  he thinks Howard bogs it down.

exactly

 

[adam]

10 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

There doing Howard a favor and at least getting something for him. If he gets X number of touches,  it ramps to a 5th rounder. His touches were going to go down,  so it created less value for jordon on the open market.  Nagy wants to push the offense forward,  he thinks Howard bogs it down.

Oh don't get me wrong, there were too many 1-yd runs this season. His YPG was terrible and he really wasn't a clean fit for the offense. I understand the trade, but the timing is odd for a 2020 draft pick IMO. Like I said before, if he signs any type of league average deal next season with a new team, Philly gets their pick back in 2021. 

[Mongo3451]

Not great, but I'm good with it.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

1 hour ago, adam said:

 

6th rounder in 2020 = a 7th rounder this year. What the hell? This was a bad move IMO. There was no need to do this now if it wasn't a 2019 draft pick. There are so many injuries in the preseason that we could've gotten more for him at that point for a RB needy team.

 

Yes, what if one of those pre-season injuries is Davis?  What if it’s Cohen?  We don’t have enough ‘tape’ on Davis to know if he’s good enough to carry the weight in Tarik’s absence or really even good enough to compliment him.  Howard by himself proved that he could be a sole running back IF it came to that.  I don’t buy for a second that Nagy couldn’t figure out a way to get Howard more involved.  

And like you said to get a 6th round draft pick for 2020 seems to extememly devalue Jordan.  Especially when you figure in the Eagles need at RB and the alleged high interest in Jordan from other teams.  Makes very little sense. 

[AZ54]

I was in the trade Howard camp since it seemed inevitable he wasn't a good fit in this offense but this is not a Ryan Pace type of move, and I don't like it.  I don't see the proper return value so it seems we should have just stuck with him through camp.  More importantly Pace always wants to go into the draft with no glaring needs.  Now he has one.   Cohen is not really a RB in the NFL but he can handle a few snaps there.  Davis is just a 3rd RB.  

The only way I'd have expected Pace to make this deal is if he has another RB already agreeing to a deal, someone like TJ Yeldon.  That FA will cost him 3-5mil/yr and he didn't want to also eat Howard's $2mil cap hit.   Even if we sign a FA this now leaves room on the roster for a rookie RB.  I have to believe some FA RB news is on the horizon.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

12 hours ago, AZ54 said:

RB already agreeing to a deal, someone like TJ Yeldon. 

Of the remaining FAs that makes the only sense. The higher rated RBs are gone.  Is there more RB in the future for Patterson? (doesn’t make this more sensical) or is he eyeballing a gem in the draft?  (Makes more sense).  But then the team didn’t gain anything in draft capital; like you said just created a more obvious need.  

*edit:  And to the Eagles?  Doesn’t Coach Pedersen run a very similar style offense that Nagy runs?  Yet Howard doesn’t fit Nagys style?  WTH?  I still don’t get it.  

 

[madlithuanian]

14 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

exactly

 

I third that...

[Connorbear]

Nagy made it clear that Howard does not fit his system and he prefers to have RB by committee.  Howard needs to carry the ball 20+ times a game to have success.  No way that was going to happen consistently in this offense.  Plus, even though he improved his receiving, he still is not a natural catching the ball.  

I have no issues with the trade. Obviously, I wish we could have received more compensation. 

Peace

[BearFan PHX]

It was this time last year a lot of people were upset about letting Meredith go.

Jordan was a 5th round pick with declining productivity and poor receiving skills. Also, there was no way he was going to re-sign with us. As the season went on, the tension was going to rise as Howard didnt get the ball enough.

For all we know, maybe Howard communicated privately in a classy way that he would hold out if he wasnt traded. And if not, surely his unhappiness would be felt, even if he was the ultimate pro about it.

I like Howard as a person. I appreciate his fight and the way he finished his runs. He was the kind of player you'd love in a 1980s landscape. At least when he was averaging 5 yards a carry. 3.7 not so much.

We are so used to holding on to 85%-ers that we arent used to the reality that teams like the Patriots live in year in and year out. We are a really good team now, and player who are pretty good are not helping us. We have to be able to aim higher and let go of players that might even have roles on other teams.

Again, we traded one year of an unhappy Howard, not a career of a tough fighting 20 carry a game Howard, because for a variety of reasons, that player is simply not available to us.

So the end result is, if you saw a 6th round 2020 pick laying on the sidewalk would you bother to bend over to pick it up? Im glad Pace did.

[BearFan2000]

Like many have noted Jordan was not going to be a Bear beyond 2019.  And he's not a natural fit in Nagy's offense as he's not the type of back that thrives in a committee but more in a system where can get consistent touches in the 20's or so.  The writing's been on the wall for quite some time now that he won't likely be here beyond his rookie deal and moving him could benefit him and us.  I wish we got more compensation for him, but RB's don't garner as much in trade as they have in the past.  Especially bell cow backs/feature backs as more and more teams slide towards the committee approach.  I do find it a little odd that Philly traded for him as they run a similar offensive system so it begs the question is he any better fit in their offense than he was in ours?

[Alaskan Grizzly]

35 minutes ago, BearFan NYC said:

 

It was this time last year a lot of people were upset about letting Meredith go.

 

Meredith was also coming off a pretty bad knee injury and previous injury history.  His productivity died off for other reasons.  

I get that Howard may not fit this system (although a trade to Philly baffles me) and I get he may have wanted to move on.  His production was still evident, especially as the year wore on late in the season.  

I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into another ‘Robbie Gould’ like scenario.   

 

[adam]

Just a thought, if Howard played another season and walked, at most he would return a 5th rounder in 2021. With this trade, the Bears get a 6th (and potentially a 5th) a year earlier, which has the same value and could potentially be worth more than the comp pick in 2021. So from a draft value perspective, this is not a bad deal.

[Connorbear]

https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/grizzly-detail/chicago-bears-jordan-howard-says-goodbye-after-trade-507844221.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_CHBrand&fbclid=IwAR3nOGz8j9UtCeNvdz_inrXCEzZS8tZ91thjaI9jcocFA0aMVYMuumFsxmE

[ASHKUM BEAR]

4 hours ago, adam said:

Just a thought, if Howard played another season and walked, at most he would return a 5th rounder in 2021. With this trade, the Bears get a 6th (and potentially a 5th) a year earlier, which has the same value and could potentially be worth more than the comp pick in 2021. So from a draft value perspective, this is not a bad deal.

I thought possibly a 4th rd comp pic, but 5th at least if we kept him. Now the Eagles may get that comp for a year of service.  The trade also nets us 2 plus million in extra cap space to help us re-sign Floyd/Whitehair early which will help the cap down the road. Our trenches are getting secured long term. Come 2020, we will have 9 or 10 picks to restock with youth or have ammo to move around.  I think Chase Daniel gets extended to lower his cap too adding to the security of keeping the core intact long term. We can see what the draft has to offer for RB and if we dont like a guy, then maybe sign TJ Yeldon or Bilial Powell. 

[Stinger226]

On 3/29/2019 at 9:26 AM, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Yes, what if one of those pre-season injuries is Davis?  What if it’s Cohen?  We don’t have enough ‘tape’ on Davis to know if he’s good enough to carry the weight in Tarik’s absence or really even good enough to compliment him.  Howard by himself proved that he could be a sole running back IF it came to that.  I don’t buy for a second that Nagy couldn’t figure out a way to get Howard more involved.  

And like you said to get a 6th round draft pick for 2020 seems to extememly devalue Jordan.  Especially when you figure in the Eagles need at RB and the alleged high interest in Jordan from other teams.  Makes very little sense. 

I think they know what their doing.  You can not assume prejnjuries.  What if they keep Howard and he got hurt? You can apply coulda to everything. It makes little sense to hang to someone you clearly don't want and let him leave with nothing in return. 

[Boston Boxer]

well, i guess if your not going to use him than getting something for him is good.  He is worth more than a 6th rd pick IMO.  No way in hell is Cohen an every down back but this is not your traditional offense.  We will see what Davis brings and i also expect them to draft a RB

[Stinger226]

A 6th was all they got. So that is his value.  They said last year they had an offer of a 3 but they a good record and didn't have his reply. This year they will add 3 new RBs and still have Nall.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

9 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

A 6th was all they got. So that is his value.  They said last year they had an offer of a 3 but they a good record and didn't have his reply. This year they will add 3 new RBs and still have Nall.

Brad Biggs has good sources and he mentions that it was likely Howard didn't make the 53.  That was before the trade and I thought he was crazy.  Nagy wants a specific fit that Howard didn't match.

[Stinger226]

I think Nagy wants to expand his offense and Howard limited his options. Howard has value to someone just not in our offense. He excelled under Fox but we we were a losing team. Now we're winning so let Nagy do we he wants. 

[AZ54]

9 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

Brad Biggs has good sources and he mentions that it was likely Howard didn't make the 53.  That was before the trade and I thought he was crazy.  Nagy wants a specific fit that Howard didn't match.

I wish we'd seen some of Nall near the end of the season instead of Mizzell.  I still think he can find a spot on the roster either as the last TE/H-back or as our power back.  He's not nimble but is versatile enough as a receiver to offer more routes than Howard (FWIW his 3-cone drill time was sub-7sec and about 2 tenths faster than Howard).   At his size he might be able to provide some of the tough short yardage plays we need now that we're without Howard.  It's hard to know where Nall fits, if he does at all, based on a few preseason plays against lesser competition.  Mizzell looked bad in preseason and somehow he got playing time.   

What we know: 

Nagy kept a FB, Burton, and Howard last year so there was some preference for a power running game.  Moving on from Howard ast year didn't leave us many options but the FB was something of a luxury in final cuts.  

Nagy often use a 3rd OT so again he wanted to go big at times.  

Nagy was instrumental in recruiting Nall as a UDFA.  https://247sports.com/Article/Ryan-Nall-named-Chicago-Bears-most-exciting-UDFA-addition-in-2018-118748901/

"They didn't draft any running backs, they didn't sign any other free agent running backs, so they told me I'm going to be the only rookie running back coming into camp," Nall said on Rip City Mornings,via NBC Sports Northwest. "Obviously I visited there, so I know what kind of offense they're going to run. They all said they see me as their big back. Obviously, going into camp and going into rookie mini and fall camp, I've got to be able to make the roster, make the team, but that's their vision they saw in me.

"They want me to be that big back that they know [can come in] late in games and can pound the rock a couple times, open up the passing game, pass protection, third-down back—things like that. I think I really gravitated toward that."

Nagy and Pace let Daniel Brown leave for a vet-min type of deal. Potentially opening some roster space.

Nagy and Pace have not signed FB Michael Burton.  Another player who would likely only get a vet min deal.  They could still come to an agreement but it's clear this Burton is not a key part of the plan.  

Nall runs hills to get better.   https://twitter.com/samjohnsonPDX/status/1094055389014814720  (joking here)

 

What I think I know: 

I don't see us drafting a big RB as there aren't many, if any, who fit what Nagy wants to do. 

Tarik Cohen is nothing more than a part-time RB / slot WR.   His role won't change this year.  

RB Mike Davis is nothing more than a solid #3 RB to replace Mizzell, and is just good enough to give you a few games as a starter.  

We need to add two RBs to fill out the roster.   We could draft two RBs but keeping two rookies around learning a complex offense while at the same time adjusting to the NFL is a risk.  IMO that's not Pace's style.  Unless the second RB gets parked on the practice squad for year.   Or is Nall one of these two RBs we will rely on heading into training camp?