As the Bears’ final preseason game approaches on Saturday, several questions remain as to who will be kept on the 53-man roster.
For 2023 fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson, this question looms especially large.
The fourth-year man never truly lived up to some expectations placed on him when he was drafted. In 36 career games, Johnson has put up just 519 rushing yards for eight rushing touchdowns, although he has dealt with injuries and a crowded running back room.
ESPN’s Courtney Cronin projects that the former Longhorn will be left off the roster heading into the regular season, with 2020 undrafted free agent Salvon Ahmed edging him out.
With cutdown day coming up on Sunday, it’s imperative that Johnson have a strong showing against the Tennessee Titans. This includes not only production on the ground, but special teams impact as well.
Although only playing seven games in 2025 due to various injuries, Johnson played around 55 percent of all special teams snaps during those games. He has not played on special teams during either Bears preseason game so far.
After rushing for 42 yards on 12 carries last week against the Cincinnati Bengals and putting together a strong joint practice beforehand, Roschon Johnson had the man most important to his future singing his praises: Ben Johnson.
“I think he flashed the other day in particular on special teams, and we keep talking about that and the importance of being the number three running back, or depth in the running back room and being able to bring that to the table,” Ben Johnson told reporters. “(We) would love to see some of these players stack good performances back to back to back.”
It’s hard to comfortably state that Thursday’s joint practice and Saturday’s preseason finale are an open tryout for the Bears’ third running back spot, but it’s also hard not to state that.
What makes Roschon Johnson’s future especially unclear, however, is the significance of 2025 seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai’s injury. Monangai was said to be week to week due to a hyperextended right knee after an awkward collision with veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett in practice.
Even though the injury turned out to be rather minor compared with early fears, it is still unclear whether Monangai will be ready to go for Week 1. Johnson squares up as a more fitting early replacement if need be since he shares a rugged running style more comparable to Monangai’s than Ahmed’s, although it’s best not to guess what Ben Johnson has up his sleeve.
There’s also the possibility that the Bears end up keeping both Johnson and Ahmed, although maybe not the most appealing idea due positions like left tackle and nickelback still being of concern.
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