David Montgomery injury could lead Chicago Bears to sign Devonta Freeman

The major injury scare around the NFL on Wednesday is from Chicago Bears camp as second-year running back and clear-cut starter David Montgomery went down with an injured left leg and had to be carted off. Early reports are that the 2019 third-round pick has strained his groin and avoided a season-ending injury, but do not be surprised to see the Bears now pursue Devonta Freeman – easily the top free-agent running back on the market.

Montgomery reportedly slipped before he took a hand-off from Mitchell Trubisky, went to the ground without contact and got up holding his left leg in what appeared to be serious pain. Coach Matt Nagy is the one who said it was a groin strain but no official test results have been reported yet. Nagy "hopes" it isn't severe. (Update: Montgomery expected to miss 2-4 weeks)

Montgomery, the 73rd overall pick in the 2019 draft, led the team with 889 yards rushing and six scores last season. Not amazing numbers, but he was among the league leaders in broken tackles and had reported to camp down from his 2019 playing weight by cutting junk food from his diet. Montgomery is +4000 at William Hill sportsbook to lead the NFL in rushing yards.

"I was a lot slower than I know I was capable of moving at," said Montgomery of his rookie season, "and it affected the game. I kind of let myself get in the way of myself as far as what I ate last year."

The Bears' running back depth chart is scary thin. Tarik Cohen is technically the No. 2, but he's a pass-catching specialist who had just 64 carries last year for 213 yards. Then there's Ryan Nall, who has all of two rushing attempts in his career, and kick returner/receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who has been practicing with the running backs in camp.

An injury to Montgomery is the last thing the offensively-challenged Bears need with such huge questions under center as Trubisky and Nick Foles are battling for the No. 1 job. Early reports have Foles in the lead.

Freeman is a former two-time Pro Bowler who was released in the winter by the Falcons. The 28-year-old is not a Pro Bowl-caliber back at this point in his career but did have a solid 656 yards rushing and 59 catches for 410 yards with six combined TDs last year in 14 games. 

Seattle tried to sign Freeman to a one-year deal worth around $4 million a few months ago, but he puzzlingly turned that down. The Philadelphia Eagles have long been linked to Freeman. Chicago had been in various media reports too (Bears fans are all over Twitter right now begging for Freeman).

If not Freeman, the Bears could call C.J. Prosise, who worked out for the team earlier in August. Prosise at 26 is two years younger than Freeman but has never had more than 30 carries in a season and has been very injury prone.

Chicago is in Detroit for Week 1 with the Lions – who also worked out Prosise – as 1.5-point favorites on the NFL odds. 

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