Bears 'Love' Ex Longhorns RB Roschon Johnson
Former Texas Longhorns running back Roschon Johnson made the most of his opportunities in his NFL preseason debut on Saturday with the Chicago Bears. The recent fourth-round pick helped the Bears to their 23-17 win over the Tennessee Titans and now seems to be a name on the rise in Chicago.
Johnson led the Bears in rushing with 44 yards on 12 carries, despite featuring in a backfield that includes veterans like fellow former Longhorn D'Onta Foreman and Khalil Herbert.
It was a performance that impressed fans and even gained the coaching staff's attention. According to a recent report from ESPN's Courtney Cronin, the Bears are now giving the rookie Longhorn a chance with the first team in practice.
“Just the running style,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said about what he's been impressed with Johnson. “He’s a downhill guy that we’re excited about. He’s got good vision. And since he’s gotten in there, we really love the style. We’re just gonna keep letting that thing compete out where it belongs, and we’ll see where it goes.”
The move to give Johnson reps with the starting offense is a significant show of faith from the coaching staff after the Bears brought in Foreman earlier in the offseason during free agency. Foreman, 27, is fresh off a career year in the NFL, where he became the Carolina Panthers' No. 1 back after they traded Christian McCaffrey mid-season.
Foreman, a former Doak Walker award winner at Texas, rushed for 916 yards and five touchdowns on 203 carries last season. Although, following his performance against the Titans, albeit with a very small sample size of three carries for nine yards, many suggest Foreman could be traded or let go completely with the emergence of Johnson.
While Longhorn fans would love nothing more than to see Johnson and Foreman feature together in an NFL backfield, they can, at the very least, take pride in seeing the rookie continue to impress the Bears.
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