Bears' Compensation for the Jordan Howard Trade is Set

The Chicago Bears are busy trying to find answers as to what they have to work with this 2020 offseason. Chief among them is determining how many draft picks they'll have. It may seem odd, but the Bears don't have a good idea yet as to what their slate will be. They have two 2nd round picks, a 5th round pick, a 6th round pick, and a 7th round pick. Those are set in stone. What isn't certain is the status of three other potential picks. One of them involving their trade for Jordan Howard.

All that was reported at the time was the pick was conditional. This meant if Howard met certain parameters, then it would go from a 6th rounder to a 5th rounder. What people haven't known up to this point is what those parameters were. Did Howard do enough to secure the higher choice for Chicago? Not according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. He reported that the Bears will receive a 6th round pick from Philadelphia in the Howard deal.

"The Bears will receive a sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft from the Eagles in exchange for Howard. There was a chance the pick would improve to a fifth-rounder, but Howard didn’t play well enough for that to happen."

Jordan Howard injury vs. Bears ironically killed his season

The great irony of this situation is Howard was on his way to having a great year for the Eagles. He was playing some top level football which culminated in a strong effort against the Bears. One where he went for 82 yards and a touchdown, pacing Philly to a 22-14 win. It seemed like a foregone conclusion he'd end up having a strong season at that point. Then news came out that Howard had suffered a shoulder injury in that game.

He played just one more snap the next week and never appeared again for the rest of the season. He finished with 594 total yards and seven touchdowns. Smart money says that is not the production plateau the Eagles set in the conditions for the pick. Thus the Bears actually hurt their chances of getting a higher choice by hurting Howard himself. A rather fitting twist to what was such a disappointing season.