At times, D’onta Foreman’s free agent signing with the Chicago Bears went smoothly. However, they failed to maintain their momentum down the stretch. Foreman is a free agent again this year, and he will not be returning.
When he first signed, he had no idea the Chicago Bears would choose Roschon Johnson. To be honest, the Bears most likely were unaware of this as well, and Johnson’s fall had an influence. Foreman was active in week one, but it was evident that the Bears did not have enough work to split among a three-man committee, and Foreman contributed little to special teams, thus he remained inactive.
Injuries occurred in the middle of the ar, forcing the team to call on Foreman. Foreman had a five-game period in which he rushed 81 times for 351 yards and caught seven passes for 47 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged more than 4.3 yards per attempt.
Then he wounded himself while Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson recovered. There was suddenly no room for him again. The Bears activated him for weeks 14 and 15, but he only had 17 carries for 44 yards and appeared to be less comfortable rushing than before.
So, the Bears activated him for the final three games of the season. He was frustrated with his role this year and believes he can contribute more to a running back room that needs it. While the Bears value his depth, they understand that signing him again is a long shot. Look for him to try to break into a less crowded backfield this offseason.
The Chicago Bears will not let Jaylon Johnson leave this offseason. They may have to franchise tag him to ensure his retention, but they will not let him go for free. We expected a possible extension for Johnson about this time last year. It came to three years for $36 million, with $24 million guaranteed. After such a successful year, what does an extension look like now?
The initial notion is that Johnson will play for the tag at the very least. The estimated tag cost is $18.8 million. So, the Bears will have to outperform that before even getting a seat at the table because, at worst, Johnson will play for that contract and then potentially earn more on the open market in 2025. Alternatively, he may earn the tag again, which would be worth 120% of the original amount.
So, Johnson felt confident enough to go into this year without a long-term contract, and he must be thinking that the worst-case scenario is being tagged twice. Taking 120% of the $18.8 million would yield $22.6 million. That would be two years and $41.4 million.
