Salvon Ahmed came into Bears camp as the kind of name most fans barely clocked. Now he’s turned himself into one of the hardest roster calls Chicago has to make.
When training camp opened, Ahmed wasn’t viewed as a real contender for the RB3 job. He looked like a body for camp, maybe someone who could hang around on the practice squad or put enough preseason snaps on tape to catch on somewhere else.
That picture changed fast.
The first real opening came when Kyle Monangai got hurt early in camp, and Ahmed suddenly found himself getting work at RB2 alongside Roschon Johnson. From there, he kept stacking moments and grabbing attention from Bears reporters with plays that popped.
Then he delivered the kind of preseason highlight that sticks. In Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, Ahmed caught a simple screen from Case Keenum and turned it into a 49-yard touchdown in Chicago’s 34-10 win.
Through two preseason games, Ahmed has 53 rushing yards and 69 receiving yards with a touchdown through the air. He’s second on the team in rushing and third in receiving.
That production has put the Bears in a tight spot. Johnson has held his own, but Ahmed has shown sharper vision and a bigger ability to create explosive plays, while Johnson brings more of a power style.
Monangai also appears unlikely to be back for the Bears’ Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers, which leaves Ahmed and Johnson in line to both make the roster and possibly battle for the backup role. For now, the two are sorting out who ends up as the third-string back.
If Bears fans were making the call, Ahmed would probably be the choice. His speed and versatility out of the backfield make him the more intriguing option. The one concern is health, which was a major issue for him with the Miami Dolphins.
Chicago still has time, and the team likely won’t tip its hand until the last possible moment. But Ahmed has made the decision brutally difficult. He has done more than enough to force his way onto the 53-man roster, and anything less would come as a surprise to Bears fans.
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