Bears need to give Lamar Miller a look in the backfield

Heading into the 2020 season, we knew the thinnest spot on the Chicago Bears’ depth chart was at the running back position. When Tarik Cohen went down with a torn ACL, Cordarrelle Patterson was next in line to get more carries. But it’s time to end the experiment.

Patterson was signed to a two-year deal before the 2019 season to give the Bears a Swiss-Army knife similar to how he was utilized in his previous stops in New England, Oakland, and Minnesota. Yes, the Bears offensive line looks brutal once again, but Patterson isn’t the answer behind David Montgomery. The 29-year-old has 25 carries for 71 yards on the year, averaging 2.8 yards-per-attempt, including 3 carries for 1 yard in the 24-10 defeat against the Rams on Monday.

The Bears added Lamar Miller to the practice squad at the beginning of October. He’s coming off a brutal ACL recovery himself, but, by all accounts, he’s 100 percent and ready to go. The former Miami Hurricanes’ standout had a breakout season in 2014 with the Dolphins and carried that success over in three seasons with the Texans.

For a team that has historically relied on their running game, the Bears offense had just 49 yards rushing on Monday Night Football. Matt Nagy’s offense has looked pretty bad for most of the season, despite the quarterback change, scoring just 3 points.

The Bears are in a critical part of the 2020 schedule, and they are not off to an encouraging start. I’d like to see Miller promoted from the practice squad to back up Montgomery next week against the Saints. New Orleans rushing defense ranks fourth in the league, allowing 89.7 yards-per-game. The Bears need to change it up if they want to avoid another embarrassing loss.