Tarik Cohen literally can’t afford another down season.
He has the intertwining motivations of seeking to erase a frustrating 2019 performance that he admitted “was definitely not my best work” and playing for the big contract he thought he’d already have by now.
But the Bears couldn’t extend him this offseason after he plunged from being arguably their best offensive player to a minimal factor, and other teams will be similarly hesitant in free agency next year if he doesn’t turn it around.
“Going into a contract year, I already know that [there’s] only one thing that matters and it’s how I play on the field this season,” he said after practice Tuesday. “It’s on me to perform well this year. I’ve got to ball out this year.”
The Bears would appreciate that.
Cohen starred at running back in coach Matt Nagy’s first season and led the Bears with 1,169 yards from scrimmage. He was a threat as a receiver, catching a team-best 71 passes, and their most effective runner. On average, getting the ball in Cohen’s hands was worth 6.9 yards.
Not only was he productive, but he was unpredictable. That opened up other elements of the offense by forcing defenses into predicaments of how to cover him. The Bears ideally want opponents so off-balanced that they try to defend him with a safety when it turns out he’s running and a linebacker when he’s going out for a pass. The more guesswork before the snap, the better.
Cohen’s incredible speed and elusiveness earned him nicknames like The Human Joystick (because he moves like he’s in a video game) and Chicken Salad (you can figure that one out on your own).
But he wasn’t either of those things last season. And that’s why he’s in the wait-and-see category rather than a new contract being virtually automatic.
What happened to this guy? His yards per touch dropped to 4.7, and there were times when he was barely noticeable. In Weeks 7 and 8, with the Bears fighting to steer out of their tailspin, he played just 16 snaps each game. He got five carries or fewer in all but three games.
Cohen put up six games of 100-plus yards of offense in his first two seasons and averaged 73.1 per game in 2018. He topped 73 just twice last season.
Anyone who thought he didn’t look quite right was correct in that assessment. Cohen didn’t feel right, and he said a poor commitment to offseason workouts led to his body failing him.
“I didn’t feel the same explosion that I would usually feel, the same speed, and the same fire,” he said. “Also, having a losing season would make you feel that way. But mostly I feel like it was the fact that I didn’t have the best offseason.”
Cohen added that “a whole lot of family issues” made life chaotic leading up to last season, but the recent one went much better.
The contract implications surely had some impact as he faces the end of his four-year, $3 million rookie deal. It’s difficult to predict the market as the NFL lowers the salary cap to account for losses during the pandemic, but Cohen is playing for the difference between a prove-it deal and long-term financial security.
From Nagy’s perspective, he needs a dependable playmaker. Offensively, the Bears know what they’ll get from Allen Robinson. Everything else is yet to be determined. It’d be helpful to add Cohen to the short list of certainties.
Nagy, as always, is optimistic about a bounce-back season.
“He’s really dedicated right now and trying to be coachable,” he said. “There were some things we saw last year that we thought he could do better. He’s hit that full steam ahead.”
