Bears Beat: RB Jordan Howard has a 'stranglehold' on the RB1 job

Nov 02, 2016

The debate heading into Week 8 centered on how the Chicago Bears would divvy up playing time in the backfield between Howard, Ka'Deem Carey and Jeremy Langford, who returned from a high-ankle sprain after missing a month.

All of the pregame chatter proved meaningless.

Howard played 50 snaps on offense (82 percent), while Carey (six) and Langford (five) combined for just 11 reps.

"I definitely didn't think they were going to lean on me that often," Howard said. "But I guess I started with the hot hand, and they just stuck with me."

Howard rewarded the Bears' faith with 202 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.

Fantasy Impact:

Howard had been struggling and KaDeem Carey has outplayed him the last couple of weeks, so Howard's workload and performance was a surprise against a good Minnesota defense. He projects to be a solid fantasy RB2 the rest of the way.

Apr 17

Chargers to sign RB J.K. Dobbins on one-year deal

Tom Pelissero

Apr 17 · 7:45 PM EDT

Former Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins is planning to sign with the #Chargers on a one-year deal. Electric when healthy, Dobbins — who averages 5.8 yards per carry in his career — reunites with OC Greg Roman and can hit the market again in March.

Related Players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has had poor injury luck in his career, but has only managed 234 total rushes since being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. This is a low-risk, high-reward move by the Chargers and might give them a runway to wait a little longer in the '24 Draft before they address the position.

Apr 16

Cowboys sign RB Royce Freeman

Todd Archer

Apr 16 · 8:15 PM EDT

The Cowboys have signed running back Royce Freeman to a one-year deal. Freeman had 319 yards on 77 carries with 2 touchdowns last year for the Los Angeles Rams. He was 3rd round pick of Denver in '18.

Related Players: Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn

Fantasy Impact:

Freeman hasn't rushed for 500 yards since 2018, his rookie season. This shouldn't have any impact on the team drafting at the position and/or bringing back Ezekiel Elliott.

Apr 15

Eagles sign WR DeVonta Smith to three-year extension

Ian Rapoport

Apr 15 · 10:45 AM EDT

The Eagles have paid another big-time, rising player. This time, WR DeVonta Smith gets a 3-year, $75M contract extension that includes $51M guaranteed.

Related Players: A.J. Brown, DeVante Parker, Parris Campbell

Fantasy Impact:

Great news for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense as a whole. Smith will continue his 1b role in which he finished the 2023 season as fantasy's WR22.