Former Appalachian State Back Added by Bears

Titans 2020 third-round draft pick Darrynton Evans struggled with injuries for two seasons and was waived but the Bears now have him on the roster after putting in a claim.

Essentially the Bears have replaced Tarik Cohen with Darrynton Evans.

On the day they let Cohen know he would be released, they put in a waiver claim on Evans and were the team awarded the former Tennessee Titans back.

Evans was selected in the third round of the 2020 draft by the Titans but played in only six games, largely because of injuries. He isn't an exact match for Cohen, who was the Bears third-down back, punt returner and slot receiver.

However, he is a smaller, change-of-pace type of runner at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds compared to Bears running backs David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert. Cohen is 5-6 191.

Evans had a hamstring injury as a rookie and spent eight games on injured reserve while missing two other games. He was on injured reserve for 11 games last season and started the year on IR with a knee injury.

He was drafted 93rd overall in 2020 out of Appalachian State.

At Appalachian State, Evans ran for a 6.0-yard average with 482 rushes for 2,884 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also caught 39 passes for 319 yards and six TDs.

In his limited play Evans gained 61 yards rushing on 16 carries and had four receptions for 38 yards. He also returned 10 kicks for a 22.3-yard average.

And that's another App State touchdown! Zac Thomas throws this one, a 1-yard connection with tight end Henry Pearson, and App State leads 24-3 with 45 seconds left in the half.

Here's the 62-yard run by Darrynton Evans to set up the TD. pic.twitter.com/ipYYEk0jlZ

— App State Athletics (@appstatesports) December 16, 2018

Cohen hasn't played since 2020 because of an ACL tear. The Bears' third running back was Damien Williams, the former Kansas City Chiefs back. He suffered through an injury and COVID-plagued 2021 season and it was expected the Bears would be looking for backup help at the position behind David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert.

The Bears could be interested in trying him as a kick returner as Herbert is expected to be slated for more duties as the backup at running back. He started last year as the third-string back.

The replay I have of the #CamelliaBowl is in Spanish. Here's the call of Darrynton Evans' 94-yard TD return for #AppState: pic.twitter.com/oBx3ak9wMf

— Bret Strelow (@bretstrelow) December 19, 2016

In college, Evans averaged 25.7 yards on 56 kick returns, and had three touchdowns. He averaged 32.7 yards in 2018 for 15 returns.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven