The Chicago Bears have a new running back who is looking to earn the starting job this year. The team signed former Carolina Panthers running back D’Onta Foreman to a one-year contract, who will compete with Khalil Herbert for touches in the offense.
Foreman was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft after a decorated collegiate career at Texas. After a solid start to his rookie season, injuries and work habits sidelined him for nearly two years and he was released prior to the 2019 season.
He found new life with the Tennessee Titans in 2021, filling in for Derrick Henry after he suffered a foot injury and had a career year with the Carolina Panthers last season following the Christian McCaffrey trade. Foreman rushed for 914 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry, with five touchdowns. The majority of his production came after Week 6 where he had five 100-yard games.
Foreman now joins the Bears with a chance to earn the starting job away from Herbert. Regardless of the outcome, though, his presence will benefit the offense and fills the void left by David Montgomery and then some. Here is our initial grade of the signing.
Contract details
- 1 year, $3 million
Initial grade: A-
Foreman’s career has been an enigma ever since he came into the league nearly six years ago. He was one of the all-time greats at the University of Texas and seemed destined to become the Texans’ new workhorse. Even though the injuries played a factor, Foreman fell out of favor with the staff and was all but out of the league two years later. He finally began realizing his potential and now has a chance to become a Week 1 starter for the first time in his career.
Foreman comes in as the initial replacement for Montgomery as a hard-nosed runner and it’s fairly easy to compare the two. They both had nearly the same amount of carries in 2022 with 203 for Foreman and 201 for Montgomery. The difference is Foreman had 100 more rushing yards than Montgomery (914 to 801) and had exactly 100 more yards before contact (505 to 405), most of which came in the second half of the season.
In essence, Foreman showed he can be a similar player to Montgomery with better vision and for half the price. Foreman is set to earn $3 million while Montgomery inked a three-year deal with the Detroit Lions that will pay him $6 million per year on average. The fact Foreman is still only 26 years old and has just 443 career rushing attempts with plenty of tread left on the tires is a bonus.
The only downside of the move is Foreman’s limitations in the passing game. Neither he or Herbert have exceptional skills in that area and it could limit the Bears with how they run their offense. Though Travis Homer, the other running back signed in free agency, can be an option, they still would be wise to add another player who can catch passes out of the backfield. But for the price and the recent production, general manager Ryan Poles and the Bears did very well with this move.
