Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 8:35pm

HOWARD HEADED TO PHILADELPHIA

The Philadelphia Eagles acquired running back Jordan Howard from the Chicago Bears for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2020.

What does it give the Philadelphia Eagles
For Philadelphia, the addition of Howard likely means that the team will not re-sign free agent Jay Ajayi (who was hurt a lot during parts of his two seasons with the Eagles). Howard is more durable and productive than Ajayi, though he is not as much of a threat to break a long run. Howard should help set up what will likely be an explosive passing game in Philly going forward.

What does it give the Chicago Bears
The writing was on the wall for a Howard trade ever since the Bears acquired Mike Davis as a free agent earlier in the off-season. With the latter providing the heavy lifting, and Tarik Cohen in place as the all-purpose, gadget-play home run threat out of the backfield, Howard was deemed expendable by Chicago management. The team got very little in return, though.

Fantasy impact
Howard should provide Philadelphia with 900-1,000 rushing yards if he stays healthy in 2019. He is not much of a receiving threat out of the backfield but will be used in that capacity with the Eagles, too. He is a safe, reliable running back for fantasy owners to consider in the middle rounds. This deal also helps the fantasy plights of both Davis and Cohen, while hurting Ajayi a lot.