Tag: Tarik Cohen

Panthers reportedly signing RB Tarik Cohen to practice squad

The Panthers are reportedly adding RB Tarik Cohen to the practice squad.

The Carolina Panthers may be adding a little spark to the room.

As first reported by ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter (and not too long after a tweet from a certain significant other), the Panthers are planning on inking running back Tarik Cohen to their practice squad. Per Schefter, the signing should be made official on Wednesday.

A former fourth-round pick of the Chicago Bears, Cohen earned First-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors for his return prowess in 2018. He also recorded 1,101 rushing yards, 1,575 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns on offense in his four years with the Bears.

Cohen, who was in for a workout on Tuesday, has not played in an NFL game since the 2020 campaign. That season, the 5-foot-6, 191-pound back sustained tears to his ACL and MCL as well as a tibial plateau fracture when he was tackled on a punt return against the Atlanta Falcons.

He would then tear his Achilles tendon during a training session in the spring of 2022. Cohen announced this past summer that he’d be attempting an NFL comeback upon being medically cleared.

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Former Bears RB Tarik Cohen expected to sign with Panthers practice squad

Former Bears RB Tarik Cohen is ready for his return to the NFL, and he’s getting his chance with the Panthers.

Update: Tarik Cohen is expected to sign with the Panthers, according to Adam Schefter, pending a physical.

Former Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen worked out for the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday, according to Field Yates.

Cohen suffered a torn ACL on a punt return in 2020. He struggled to return from the injury, which caused him to miss the entire 2021 season, and Chicago released him with an injury designation last summer. Cohen continued to rehab, but he unfortunately suffered a setback during training, tearing his Achilles in May 2022.

But following plenty of ups and downs, Cohen is healthy and ready for his return to the NFL. And it sounds like the Panthers are willing to give him that chance.

Cohen, a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, was a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands — whether it was on offense or special teams as a punt returner. He signed a three-year, $17.25 million extension with the Bears just before his knee injury during the 2020 season.

If Cohen indeed signs with Carolina, he’d have an opportunity to face his former team when the Bears battle the Panthers on Thursday Night Football on Nov. 9.

Panthers work out former Bears RB Tarik Cohen on Tuesday

The Panthers worked out former Bears RB and 2018 All-Pro returner Tarik Cohen on Tuesday.

The Carolina Panthers had a local boy in the building on Tuesday. Oh, and he’s also a former First-team All-Pro.

Per the league transaction wire, the Panthers worked out former Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen. The 5-foot-6, 191-pounder was joined in his visit by cornerback Lamar Jackson, who signed with the team’s practice squad this afternoon.

A Bunn, N.C. native, Cohen attended North Carolina A&T State University from 2013 to 2016. He’d prove to be one of college football’s most electric players during that span—collecting a myriad of honors including three First-team All-MEAC selections, three MEAC Offensive Player of the Year nods, the 2016 Deacon Jones Trophy and the spot atop the MEAC all-time leading rushers list.

Cohen would then be taken by the Bears in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. His 2018 All-Pro campaign also saw him notch a trip to the Pro Bowl after leading the league in punt returns (33) and punt return yards (411).

Over his four years in Chicago, three of which came alongside current Panthers special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, Cohen fielded 96 punts and 30 kickoffs. He also recorded 1,101 rushing yards, 1,575 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns.

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Don’t expect a Tarik Cohen reunion with Bears

Former Bears RB Tarik Cohen is healthy and ready for NFL action. Just don’t expect it with Chicago.

Former Bears running back Tarik Cohen is looking to make his return to NFL action after suffering a knee injury that derailed his career in 2020.

Cohen struggled to return from injury, which caused him to miss the entire 2021 season. He was released in March 2022. Cohen continued to rehab, but he unfortunately suffered a setback during training, tearing his Achilles in May 2022.

While Cohen is healthy and ready to restart his NFL career, don’t expect a reunion with the Bears, as the former Pro Bowler made it clear they’re not interested in signing him.

“Chicago don’t want me,” Cohen said on Twitch Tuesday night.

Cohen said the Bears “hurt my heart, hurt my feelings” when they cut him last summer with an injury designation.

“I had just bought a house, just bought a [bleeping] house, and I cut [bleeping] cut,” Cohen said. “I got sniped.”

Cohen hasn’t played since Sept. 27, 2020, when he tore his ACL returning a punt against the Falcons.

Given the introduction of a new regime with general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, a reunion doesn’t really make sense anyway.

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Tarik Cohen’s NFL comeback attempt is an inspiring story worth rooting for this season

It’d be so heartwarming to see Tarik Cohen playing in the NFL again.

After nearly three full seasons away from the professional game, Tarik Cohen will be making an NFL comeback attempt this year. The news of Cohen’s latest efforts to return to the league comes per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

And Cohen’s story — which he once detailed in a heartbreaking Players’ Tribune article — is something everyone should be rooting for this fall.

There was once a time when Cohen was one of the NFL’s most electric players. As a member of the Chicago Bears, Cohen was a productive big-play machine, recording 2600-plus yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns on just over 470 touches in four seasons. The Bears leaned on the diminutive but electric back as a genuine focal point of their offense. If Chicago needed a first-down conversion or a chunk play, chances are Cohen’s No. 29 jersey was being dialed. And he almost always delivered.

But then Cohen tore his ACL early in Chicago’s 2020 campaign, and everything changed. And when attempting to make his comeback in the ensuing years, Cohen’s brothers, Tyrell and Dante, died in separate incidents in 2021 and 2022. Chicago would officially release Cohen in March 2022, and he tore his Achilles tendon shortly after, casting his long-term NFL future into doubt.

On a professional and personal level, Cohen has seen more than his fair share of adversity in recent years. As he tries a comeback, there’s no guarantee he will find his way onto an NFL roster, let alone make any on-field impact. But it would be so touching to see Cohen make a wholehearted effort to return and succeed. Even if he likely isn’t the same player that he once was, it’s not about playing at an elite level again.

It’s about showing he still belongs in one of the most exclusive sports leagues in the world and that he’s so much more than the trials he’s suffered through lately. Who can’t relate to that?

Former Bears RB Tarik Cohen healthy, ready for return to NFL

It’s been a rough few years for former Bears RB Tarik Cohen, but he’s now healthy and ready to resume his NFL career.

It’s been a difficult couple of years for former Bears running back Tarik Cohen, whose NFL career has been derailed by a torn ACL suffered on a punt return in 2020.

Cohen struggled to return from the injury, which caused him to miss the entire 2021 season, and Chicago released him with an injury designation last summer. Cohen continued to rehab, but he unfortunately suffered a setback during training, tearing his Achilles in May 2022.

After a whirlwind of injuries and emotions, it sounds like Cohen is finally back on track. According to his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha, via Adam Schefter, Cohen is now healthy and ready for his return to the NFL.

Cohen, a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, was a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands — whether it was on offense or special teams as a punt returner. He signed a three-year extension worth $17.25 million just before his knee injury during the 2020 season.

The hope is Cohen, 28, will find a new home and get his NFL career back on track after a brutal couple of years.

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Bears free up additional cap space as Danny Trevathan, Tarik Cohen cuts become official

The Bears designated Danny Trevathan and Tarik Cohen as post-June 1 cuts, which has now freed up an additional $7.29 million in cap space.

When the Chicago Bears released linebacker Danny Trevathan and running back Tarik Cohen earlier this offseason, they designated them as post-June 1 cuts to lessen the dead cap hit and free up additional salary cap space.

Those releases have now officially gone into effect, which freed up an additional $7.29 million in cap space.

The Bears currently have $22.21 million in available cap space, which is currently the fifth-most in the NFL. It gives Chicago plenty of breathing room to make moves later this offseason and heading into the 2022 season.

Trevathan and Cohen account for $4.18 million in dead money, which brings the Bears’ total to $56.15 million. Believe it or not, it’s only the second-most dead money in the league behind the Atlanta Falcons ($63.16 million).

Both Trevathan and Cohen remain unsigned in free agency. Unfortunately for Cohen, he recently tore his Achilles while training live on Instagram, which means he’s not likely to find a new team anytime soon.

Here’s our breakdown of the Bears’ salary cap situation, including the impact of the Trevathan and Cohen releases:

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Running back Tarik Cohen suffers a torn Achilles while training

Free agent running back Tarik Cohen suffered a torn Achilles while live streaming a training session on Tuesday.

Running back Tarik Cohen suffered a torn Achilles while training on Tuesday. Cohen, who was working to return to the field for the first time since tearing an ACL in Week 3 of the 2020 season, suffered the injury as he was live streaming a training session on Instagram Live.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, after suffering the injury Cohen underwent an MRI, which confirmed the Achilles tear:

Cohen was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, and appeared in all 16 games for the Bears in each of his first three NFL seasons. During the 2018 campaign, he carried the ball 99 times for 444 yards and three touchdowns, and added another 71 receptions for 725 yards and five touchdowns, as Chicago won the NFC North.

At the start of the 2020 season, Cohen signed a three-year, $17.25 million contract extension with the Bears. Weeks later, he was returning a punt against the Atlanta Falcons and when he was tackled, he suffered tears to his ACL and MCL, as well as a tibial plateau fracture.

He missed the rest of the 2020 season, as well as the entire 2021 campaign. The Bears released Cohen in March of this year.

In addition to the injuries, Cohen has endured personal trauma in recent years. His twin brother Tryell was found dead in May of 2021 at a power substation in North Carolina, and his younger brother Dante died in a car accident in April. Cohen chronicled that and more in a powerful piece he wrote for The Players Tribune just a week ago.

Former Bears RB Tarik Cohen suffers injury during training

It’s been a brutal couple of years for former Bears running back Tarik Cohen.

It’s been a difficult couple of years for former Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen.

Cohen has struggled to battle back from a torn ACL suffered in Week 3 of the 2020 season. It caused him to miss the entire 2021 season, and Chicago is officially parting ways with him — designating him a post-June 1 release.

Still, Cohen has continued to rehab his knee and get back to form in order to land a spot with a new team. Unfortunately, he suffered a setback during training.

Cohen looks to have suffered an injury during training that was being streamed on Instagram Live.

The hope is the injury isn’t serious and that Cohen can soon get back to training so he can find a new landing spot in the NFL.

But it sounds like it could be an Achilles injury, which would be another devastating blow for Cohen.

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How Danny Trevathan, Tarik Cohen releases impact Bears’ salary cap

The Bears designated Danny Trevathan and Tarik Cohen as post-June 1 cuts. Here’s how it impacts the salary cap.

The Chicago Bears officially released running back Tarik Cohen and linebacker Danny Trevathan at the start of the new league year.

The moves didn’t come as a surprise as general manager Ryan Poles aims to make the roster younger and get some bad contracts off the books. But there was a question whether the transaction would be designated pre-June 1 or post-June 1.

The Bears have officially designated the release of Cohen and Trevathan as post-June 1 cuts, which impacts Chicago’s salary cap. The Bears free up an additional $7.2 million in salary cap space with both releases, which goes into effect on June 2.

Cohen’s release saves $4 million in cap space with $1.75 million in dead money while Trevathan’s release frees up $3.3 million in cap space with a $2.4 million dead cap hit.

Cohen was released with an injury designation as he’s been unable to pass a physical since tearing his ACL back in Week 3 of the 2020 season. Cohen signed a three-year extension shortly before his injury, and his inability to get back on the field likely impacted the decision to release him.

Trevathan was one of former GM Ryan Pace’s best free agent signings. But Trevathan struggled to stay healthy throughout his six-year tenure in Chicago, where he played just two full seasons in 2018 and 2020.

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