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Bears running back David Montgomery is entering the final year of his rookie deal, which means the team has a big decision to make about his future moving forward.
Montgomery established himself as the starter from his arrival in 2019, and he’s anchored the only aspect of Chicago’s offense that seemed to work during the Matt Nagy era. Montgomery had a 1,000-yard rushing season in his second year — finishing fifth in rushing in the NFL — and he would’ve likely hit 1,000 yards again if not for a knee injury that forced him to miss four games.
Solid running backs are a dime a dozen in the NFL, as evidenced by Khalil Herbert’s impressive rookie outing last year. But could there be a scenario where the Bears actually work to extend Montgomery?
Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger believes it’s a “strong possibility.”
“We know he is a great locker room guy,” Spielberger told Windy City Gridiron. “He would eat glass if Ryan Poles asked him to eat glass. All those things, when you are trying to establish a culture, and trying to get a locker room to buy in, those reasons and rationales aren’t always smart, but I really do, I think he’s going to get extended. I think it’ll fall in the 10 to 12 million per year range, maybe even more frankly. How it ages? Probably won’t be great but I do think that is a strong possibility.”
It’s easy to see why the Bears could bring back Montgomery, especially if he commands an affordable deal. Then again, if Herbert proves to be a reliable option that can step in as starter, GM Ryan Poles might decide to let Montgomery test the open market.
But it’s too early to start thinking about Montgomery’s future, as he still has one season left to play out on his rookie deal. For now, let’s see how Montgomery factors into Luke Getsy’s new offense, where we could see a lot more of a 1-2 punch with Montgomery and Herbert.
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