Bears' Tarik Cohen might not be ready for Week 1?

Bears running back Tarik Cohen missed most of the 2020 campaign after suffering a torn ACL, and it sounds like the veteran still hasn’t fully recovered from his injury. Per Adam H. Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com, Cohen is a candidate to open training camp on the PUP, and the delayed start to his preseason could affect his availability for the beginning of the regular season.

The 2017 fourth-round pick has spent his entire career in Chicago. This included a 2018 campaign when he finished with 1,169 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns, but it was his returning prowess (a league-leading 411 punt return yards) that earned him both an All-Pro and Pro Bowl nod. Cohen started a career-high 11 games in 2019, but he was limited to a (then) career-low 669 yards from scrimmage.

The 25-year-old didn’t start any of the Bears’ first three games of the 2020 season, with the running back collecting only 115 offensive yards. He suffered his ACL injury in Week 3 and was subsequently placed on IR.

Cohen is still an important part of the Bears offense, and if they want to make noise in the NFC, they’ll surely want one of their top skill players to be healthy. Further, the team also has some financial reasons for wanting Cohen on the field; it’s been less than a year since he signed a three-year, $17.25M extension that will kick in this season.

Fortunately for the Bears, they do have some depth to overcome a hypothetical Cohen absence. David Montgomery is still sitting atop the depth chart, and they've also added veteran free agent Damien Williams this past offseason. The team is also rostering the likes of Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce and rookies Khalil Herbert and CJ Marable.