Khalil Herbert’s absence from Bears’ offense creates intriguing trade opportunity

After the Chicago Bears run game finally came to life on Sunday, it was hard to ignore the fact that running back Khalil Herbert didn’t play a snap. In fact, he has only played 21 snaps on the season, registering eight carries for 16 yards and a touchdown. With Herbert’s disappearance from the Bears’ offense, one has to wonder if general manager Ryan Poles might use Herbert as a trade chip.

There is one team in particular who is in dire need of a solid running back. The Kansas City Chiefs lost starting running back Isiah Pacheco to a fractured fibula in their week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. With Pacheco sidelined for 6-8 weeks or possibly longer, they have turned to undrafted rookie Carson Steele and Kareem Hunt, who was just signed to the 53-man roster last week.

While Hunt’s debut was statistically good, there is a reason why the 29-year-old was a free agent up until two weeks ago. The Chiefs would definitely benefit from adding 26-year-old Khalil Herbert, who boasts an impressive 4.8 yards per carry in his career. While the Bears would likely not receive a huge return, listening to offers can’t hurt. If the Chiefs valued Herbert to the tune of a third-round draft pick, that could be considered a win for Poles.

When the Bears signed D’Andre Swift to a three-year, $24 million dollar contract this past offseason, it was somewhat of a mystery as to how the carries would be split up between Swift, Herbert, and Roschon Johnson.

The Bears’ coaching staff sure hasn’t made that mystery any clearer. A week after offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said that Khalil Herbert would be the short-yardage and goal-line back, he played zero snaps, and the lone goal-line carry went to Roschon Johnson.

Johnson seems like the obvious choice for short-yardage plays and goal-line carries with his physical running style, so why Waldron brought up Herbert is beyond me. Chalk it up to another example of the dysfunction of this coaching staff. Herbert is a talented runner with low mileage. If the Bears have no plans to use him regularly, they’d be wise to get what they can for him, considering he’s in the final year of his contract.