The Chicago Bears released Tarik Cohen in a decision that surprised no one. Cohen is still recovering from an ACL that occurred more than a year ago, and the team waived him with an injury designation. The Bears were able to save ~$2.25M, which made the decision a no-brainer.
However, a more surprising move was how quickly they acted to try to replace him. As waivers processed on Friday afternoon, the Chicago Bears reportedly claimed Darryton Evans, a former third-round pick for the Tenessee Titans.
Evans is not a sure-fire lock and has some questions of his own to answer after being released just two years into his rookie deal as a third-rounder. It appears as though most of his issues are injury-related because he played just five games as a rookie and one game in his second season.
Reports were that hamstrings held him back during his rookie season, and a leg injury put him on the IR during the preseason. When he came back he reinjured that same leg in his first game back and was placed on the season-ending IR.
Still, if healthy, he profiles exactly like the type of running back who will fill the role of Tarik Cohen. He is a bit undersized, but has blazing speed, and can weave in and out of defenders. He did not return punts but did return kicks, an area that the team could lean on Evans for.
The most important part of Evans is that he will get him on a salary of less than $1M. The team was going to save under $3M to move on from Cohen, but they knew that had to replace him somehow.
If they can just use the small deal they will get Evans on they will save over $1.5 overall by replacing Cohen and potentially have a player who can give the same impact as Cohen. That would make this singing a win.