It would seem the days of the soft-spoken Jordan Howard are long gone. The Pro Bowl running back has embraced his role as an emerging team leader more than ever before. It began at the start of 2017 when he was congratulated for his outstanding rookie season. Howard didn't mince words, saying the personal accolades meant nothing. His entire goal was finding a way to help the team win.
His play has done a great job at this. Two of his performances in 2017 led directly to overtime victories. Still, it hasn't been enough. So now he's decided to take on a more active approach in the off-season. Both of them involving his voice in the media. It came during a recent appearance on the popular NFL Network show, Good Morning Football.
Howard struck first when he took a page out of the playbook of former Bear Alshon Jeffery by guaranteeing Chicago makes the playoffs in 2018. That's a bold move considering it hasn't happened since 2010. Yet he wasn't finished. He took it another step further when asked about what the Bears need to improve most.
Jordan Howard singles out wide receivers as teams' biggest need
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap7WSDYftK0
While the words were likely not meant as derogatory, Howard didn't hold back in his assessment. In a sense, he just indicated the receivers the Bears have aren't good enough. He's not wrong of course. Chicago finished with the 32nd ranked passing attack in the NFL last year. Kendall Wright led the way with 614 yards. That is nowhere near good enough to win in this league. It has to get better.
If Howard sees this, the Bears brass obviously does as well. Rumors remain rampant that GM Ryan Pace and his entourage are planning an aggressive push on the wide receiver market in the next couple months. This could include free agency, the draft, and even trades. They certainly have the money to make some moves. Last estimates had the Bears at over $62 million in salary cap space.
Combined with the arrival of Matt Nagy at head coach and Mitch Trubisky at quarterback? They shouldn't have too hard a time attracting receivers to Chicago. It will depend on how aggressive they're willing to be. Howard made a clear statement here that there is no longer any room to play it safe. The time to start winning is now.
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