Cohen’s Contract
Surprisingly, the Bears signed Tarik Cohen to a 3-year extension that grants him $17.25 million in new money. The Bears fully guaranteed Cohen $9.5 million with a possibility of $2.5 million in additional guarantees. Cohen’s deal looks similar to the contract that the Browns gave their backup/third-down back Kareem Hunt, although Hunt’s average annual salary is slightly higher.
Impact on Cohen’s Dynasty Value
This extension raises Cohen’s overall dynasty value. I wrote a free dynasty profile about Cohen in July, where I highly recommended him as a cheap dynasty buy. He finished as at least the RB30 in each of his three NFL seasons, and he even managed to be the RB11 in 2018.
Cohen served as the third-down complement to Jordan Howard in his first two seasons and maintained the same role after the Bears moved on to David Montgomery as their starting running back. While Montgomery isn’t the same liability in the passing game that Howard is, he’s not an excellent pass-catcher. So, Cohen has a significant role in the Bears’ offense. I saw Cohen as an excellent redraft sleeper in 2020, as many fantasy owners dismissed him after his down 2019 season.
Scatbacks like Cohen can often disappear when moving from team to team, and NFL teams rarely commit significant money to a player like Cohen. Therefore, the Bears see Cohen as an integral part of their offense. They will continue to incorporate him as a receiver and give him a few carries per game. Cohen presents the chance at RB2 production at an RB4 price for the next two or three seasons. I’m still buying Cohen in dynasty leagues.
David Montgomery
Before Cohen’s extension, I thought David Montgomery could transition into a three-down role once Cohen’s contract expired. However, Montgomery will now play in tandem with Cohen for at least his full rookie deal, which goes through 2022. As the Bears just invested in Cohen, I don’t expect them to spend in free agency to replace Montgomery as long as he remains healthy. Therefore, Montgomery might have added stability, since his situation likely won’t change for the next couple of years.
Unfortunately, Montgomery will now never gain passing-down work, as the Bears paid Cohen to play that role. He’ll be a two-down grinder, in the mold of Jordan Howard before him. In 2019, Montgomery had 242 carries, and I expect more of the same in 2020. Montgomery had 13 carries in Week 1 and 16 carries in Week 2, averaging 14.5 rushing attempts/game.
While that is only a 232 carry pace for a full 16 game season, Montgomery had to leave this week’s game with a neck injury. If he hadn’t missed a significant portion of the contest, he would have received 5-10 more carries. Overall, Montgomery seems to be an unpopular dynasty asset, so he’s a solid hold. I rarely see Montgomery traded in dynasty leagues.
Everyone Else
I don’t think this extension affects everyone else on the Bears too much. The Bears’ 2021 quarterback is likely not on the roster, as both Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles cannot be their long-term solution. I’m stunned that the Bears decided to reach an extension with Cohen before star wide receiver Allen Robinson, especially considering Cohen himself campaigned for Robinson to get a new deal.
However, I don’t expect this relatively small Cohen deal to stop the Bears from reaching an agreement with Robinson. Similarly, the Bears’ other receiving options shouldn’t see a massive impact from Cohen’s contract. Tight end Jimmy Graham is old and carries little dynasty value while #2 receiver Anthony Miller hasn’t shown much in his career. I’m surprised that the Bears bothered to extend Cohen early, but it doesn’t affect their dynasty prospects very much.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
