Getty RB Lamar Miller has found a new home in Chicago.
The Chicago Bears have made their signing of veteran running back Lamar Miller official, the team announced via its Twitter account Monday. In order to make room for Miller on the 16-player practice squad, the Bears have released cornerback Stephen Denmark.
Denmark was a seventh round draft pick of general manager Ryan Pace and the Bears in 2019. He played wide receiver for three years at Valdosta State, a Division II school, before moving over to the defensive side of the ball his senior year, where he played corner. He had three interceptions and 55 tackles his senior season.
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Pace, Bears Thought Denmark Was Solid Potential Prospect
The Bears sent their cornerbacks/secondary coach Deshea Townsend, along with assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly, to work out with Denmark before they selected him 238th overall last year. Pace said the following about his decision to draft the 6-3, 220 pound Denmark then:
“Stephen Denmark has ridiculous measurables … He’s relatively new to the position — only one year at corner after switching from receiver—so [he’s] a guy we feel has tremendous upside ahead of him and a guy that our defensive coaches, our special-teams coaches and our scouts were equally excited about, just working with that upside and the talent that he has. We can test him in things we want to see. How does he flip his hips? How does he transition? And then on tape, for a guy that just switched to that position, his ability to track the ball. He has ball production, interception production.”
Alas, the Bears wound up signing Denmark to the practice squad for the entirety of his rookie season, and again in 2020, before his release Monday.
Bears Adding Miller to PS With Aim of Adding Him to Active Roster Later…
Considering his vast experience compared to other running backs on the Bears’ roster, Miller is likely to be added to the team sooner rather than later. With Tarik Cohen out for the rest of the year, the Bears could use a solid rusher who can also catch passes out of the backfield.
The 29-year-old running back has 5,864 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns in his seven seasons in the league. He has a career average of 4.3 yards per carry, he has gone over 1,000 yards rushing twice, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2018 after a solid season in Houston.
Miller entered the league as a fourth round draft pick selected by the Dolphins, and he spent his first four years in Miami. He signed a four-year, $26 million deal with the Texans in 2016, and he played well, netting 3,612 all purpose yards and 18 total touchdowns in 44 games. He suffered a devastating ACL tear during the 2019 preseason, and he missed the entire season. He worked out with the Bears a week ago, however, so it’s unlikely Chicago would have signed him if the injury were still hindering him.
With David Montgomery, Cordarrelle Patterson, Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce providing the team’s current depth at running back, a vet like Miller — if he’s healthy — would be a nice addition and a good fit in Matt Nagy’s offense. Let’s see how long it takes for him to have his number called.
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