Jordan Howard takes a while to react, but he finally bids his farewell to the Chicago Bears via Twitter.

The Chicago Bears finally make a long overdue trade. Ever since the trade deadline in 2018, Chicago has been trying to get rid of their 24-year-old running back, Jordan Howard. Although Howard had excellent production during his first two seasons with the Bears, the arrival of Matt Nagy changed the system and affected his production negatively.

Now, Howard is off to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2020 sixth-round draft pick, that could turn into a fifth. For the Bears, a move needed to be made. As they signed Mike Davis a few weeks ago, the backfield looked crowded, and Howard was viewed as nothing more than a third-stringer at best, with Davis and Tarik Cohen in the mix.

The Bears have shopped Howard around for the entirety of the offseason, but the deals just weren’t coming in. The Oakland Raiders and the Eagles were the only two teams that were rumored to be in on the action, so the bidding war wasn’t ideal for Chicago. Apparently, Howard was more than likely to get released at some point if a deal couldn’t be made, so the Bears budged and took the best offer on the table. That was the 2020 sixth-round pick.

Howard is off to Philly

https://twitter.com/JHowardx24/status/1111638141381853184

After being drafted in 2016, Howard emerged as one of the top backs in the NFL. He finished off his rookie season ranked second in total yards, behind Ezekiel Elliott. The following year wasn’t as impressive, but still remarkable nontheless as he rushed for over 1,100 yards.

Last season is where Howard’s production took a hit. With a new head coach comes a new system. And with a new system, came favoritism for Tarik Cohen and his pass-catching abilities. Many argue that Howard lands in a similar situation in Philly with Doug Pederson as his head coach, but the Eagles were missing a power back in their backfield last season.

That’s where Howard will fill the void. He may not bang out a 1,000 yard season, but he lands on another playoff caliber team with an excellent offensive line. The Bears shouldn’t miss Howard, but the Eagles will definitely embrace him during the 2019 NFL Season.