A throwback runner’s days in Chicago look numbered.

At this point Akiem Hicks Jerseys 2019 , it might as well be a timeless tradition to discuss the Bears trading Jordan Howard in early March. Last year, it was noted that Chicago had a plan in place to trade the burly runner for then Dolphins wide out Jarvis Landry. Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Bears had a variety of trade discussions concerning Howard at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. I felt a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of Bears fans cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.Schefter’s tweet in itself has a lot to unpack:It’s no secret the Bears don’t view Howard as an ideal fit in Matt Nagy’s offense. The fourth-year pro had by far his worst season in 2018 and has a bruising physical style of which doesn’t age well in the modern NFL. They’d like to get more dynamic and less predictable on offense. Part of that directive means finding someone more multi-faceted than Howard. A good number of tailbacks in the upcoming draft — such as Oklahoma State’s Justice Hill and Memphis’ Tony Pollard — fit Nagy’s offensive versatile bill. Howard’s case of staying in Chicago long-term isn’t helped by the fact that he’s entering the last year of a rookie contract. How many running backs that played just 58 percent of their team’s snaps get re-signed to comfortable terms after the fact? The NFL has turned the position into a replaceable meat grinder in recent years, so it doesn’t behoove an organization to invest too much into any individual runner. Factor in pending possible extensions for Cody Whitehair, Eddie Jackson, and Leonard Floyd in the next couple of years and you don’t have a palatable recipe for retaining Howard. You can’t reward everyone appropriately as not everyone is a core irreplaceable player. What Schefter’s tweet can be individually and logically surmised as is the Bears using a major league insider for leverage. The Bears are clearly actively trying to salvage somequality value for Howard before eventually letting him walk next off-season and don’t like the offers they’ve received so far. Naturally White Danny Trevathan Jerseys , it’s time to kick the situation into high gear and feed information to a scoop artist to up the ante and streamline the process. This could be seen as a last ditch effort that ultimately amounts to nothing for the Bears. When you’re forced to publicly tweet about ongoing negotiations, you risk imploding whatever leverage you had together. However, it doesn’t hurt to try and put a more aggressive feeler out and see what happens. Attaining a mid-round draft pick for a player like Howard that you don’t plan to keep around is a roster-building victory. While the Bears may not think Howard fits their new offense, all it takes is one team to believe otherwise. A relatively useful back of his style still has a place somewhere in the NFL. Whatever does happen with Howard over the next seven weeks — a draft trade may look feasible but not likely — it’s evident his days of patiently carrying out zone runs in the Chicago backfield are on their last legs. Whatever does happen, please don’t compare letting him go — a running back you can find in every draft — to once trading away an All-Pro tight end like Greg Olsen for pennies. A ludicrous comparison at every level. The contending Bears want to get faster and more explosive on offense. The fact that an influential information guru is acting as a public mouthpiece in regards to a trade of Howard speaks volumes as to him not fitting in Chicago’s offensive vision. Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network (subscribe here!), the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and writes for a host of other fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski. Get ready for guys in shorts on football fields"Being who you thought we were since 2005!Log In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsBearsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Latest NewsThe Bears DenNotesXs and OsSuperfansLatest NewsNewsBears offseason workout Danny Trevathan Jerseys 2019 , practice schedule releasedNew,2commentsGet ready for guys in shorts on football fieldsCDTShareTweetShareShareBears offseason workout, practice schedule releasedKamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY SportsThe NFL released the offseason workout schedules for all 32 teams Monday.The Bears will begin their offseason workout program April 15, just two weeks from today.Their minicamps will be May 20-21, 23, 28-30 and June 3-6 and their mandatory minicamp, the final practice before training camp White Nick Kwiatkoski Jerseys , will be June 11-13.Courtesy of Around the NFL, here is what each of these ‘phases’ consists of:Reminder that line play and the running game can’t really be evaluated much, or really any of it for that matter, but at least there will be the all-important “rapport” building between QB and receivers.It’ll also be a decent chance to see how players coming off of injuries are rebounding (think Anthony Miller, Adam Shaheen and Trey Burton).For us starved football fans, it will be a welcome sight, even if real football is still months away.The dates for the Bears rookie minicamp Nick Kwiatkoski Jerseys 2019 , which must be held one of the two weekends following the draft, will be announced later, according to the above article.If you really want to read about the rules of the programs, when they can be held and the extra practices that new coaches get and voluntary veteran minicamps, read the whole article here.