4 reasons Free Agent Travis Homer fits Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears quickly moved on from David Montgomery by signing Travis Homer. The deal is worth only $1-$2.5M per year, so it is not quite the direct replacement, but when you add in the up-and-coming Khalil Herbert, the room is starting to come together. Most fans had eyes on big names and are surprised by the decision but when you break it down, Homer does make sense.

4. Chicago Bears will use Travis Homer on passing downs

Travis Homer has played 635 snaps. He was a passing down back on 81% of those snaps. 58% of the time he was running a route, and 23% of the time he was pass-protecting. Needless to say, they signed him to be a passing down back. Seattle has praised his pass protection throughout the years, and he has shown to be fearless when staring down the blitzing linebacker.

This makes a heck of a lot of sense. We have highlighted plenty of times throughout his two seasons in the NFL that Khalil Herbert struggles in both areas. He does not have the timing or understanding to help as a pass catcher and is just a speed bump as a pass protector.

To put this into perspective, Herbert has 612 career snaps and 70 pass protection repetitions. Then, Homer has 635 snaps and 145 pass-blocking reps. 23 more snaps, and 75 more in pass protection. It is clear these two have drastically different roles as running backs.

Still, Herbert is a big play hitter, and the team needed to play him more. Now, on first and second down, the role should be for Herbert. On obvious passing downs, they can get him off of the field, and get Travis Homer out there.

The Chicago Bears do not need a three-down back who can do everything. They needed someone to pick up a blitz. That should not cost much, and it did not cost much.