A few former Bears are making noise for the wrong reasons this season, and the list starts with David Montgomery.
Montgomery’s year has already been a rough one in Houston, where he has just 138 rushing yards on 52 carries through five games. That works out to 2.7 yards per carry, and the problems around him have only made things harder. He’s been running behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, while Woody Marks has also eaten into his workload.
Then came Week 5, when the Texans finally picked up a win and Montgomery came out of it with a groin injury. Right now, he’s being labeled week-to-week.
Going into Week 6, the move to Houston has basically turned into a season of survival for Montgomery, with the Texans sitting on just one win. There’s at least some hope that the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade can give the offense a jolt and help the run game find a little more life.
The Khalil Mack chatter is only getting louder, and it makes sense why. The Chargers dropped another game in Week 5 and are now 0-5, which is about as bleak as it gets. At the same time, the Bears’ defense doesn’t look nearly as dominant as its early-season numbers suggested, and that has only added fuel to the Mack reunion idea.
Mack, 35, is back on a one-year deal with Los Angeles, but the fit in Chicago keeps coming up. The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones recently floated a Bears return as a move that makes sense, and said he’s heard from people around the league that a fifth-round pick would be a reasonable price. Mack is still producing, too, with 3.0 sacks, 14 pressures, eight hurries and eight stops, according to PFF.
A few other former Bears aren’t exactly lighting it up either.
Darnell Mooney had a busier day for the Giants against the Washington Commanders, but the numbers still weren’t there. He caught only two of his seven targets for 14 yards. For the season, the former Bears fifth-round pick has eight receptions on 17 targets for 109 yards in five games.
Olamide Zaccheaus is back with the Falcons for a second stint, but the usage hasn’t matched the early buzz. On Sunday night, he played 21 of Atlanta’s 64 offensive snaps and wasn’t targeted at all.
And then there’s Reddy Steward, who went from Bears camp and preseason standout to continuing his career with the Cowboys. This season, though, hasn’t been kind to Steward or his defense.
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