The Chicago Bears may soon reach the end of the road with former fourth-round running back Roschon Johnson as the 53-man roster cutdown draws nearer.
After several weeks of training-camp competition for the No. 3 running back role on the Bears’ 2026 roster, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin has projected that Johnson won’t make the initial 53-man roster cut after playing in 36 games over the past three years in Chicago.
Cronin also predicted that former Miami Dolphins veteran Salvon Ahmed — who has stood out in the 2026 preseason — will take Johnson’s place as the new No. 3 back.
“Swift had arguably the best training camp of any offensive skill player,” Cronin wrote on August 24. “He and Monangai will continue to power a rushing attack that ranked third in 2025. Ahmed edges out former fourth-round pick Roschon Johnson for the role of RB3.”
Salvon Ahmed Has Stood Out on Offense in Preseason
The Bears have a few different things to consider when deciding who will make the roster as their third-string running back in 2026. But if production on offense proves the most important element, then Ahmed has a distinct preseason lead over Johnson.
Through two preseason games, Ahmed has rushed for 53 yards on eight carries and logged multiple runs of 10-plus yards. He has also caught six passes for 69 receiving yards, including a screen pass from quarterback Case Keenum that he took 49 yards for a score in the 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns in the Bears’ preseason opener.
By comparison, Johnson’s offensive contributors have been paltry.
Johnson received more carries than any other Bears running back in both the first (eight) and second preseason games (12), but he has averaged just 3.8 yards on those 20 combined carries. He also did little with his two receptions, netting just four yards.
At this point, Ahmed appears the frontrunner from an offensive production standpoint, more so than Johnson or Brittain Brown, who spent 2025 on Chicago’s practice squad. That is not the only thing that will factor into the RB3 decision for the Bears, though.
Ben Johnson Shouts Out Roschon Johnson’s Growth
Cronin’s projection has Johnson on the outside looking in, but Bears head coach Ben Johnson cast doubt on that possibility in the postgame of their second preseason game.
Johnson ran for just 42 yards on 12 carries and caught a 1-yard reception on his only passing target during the Bears’ 27-9 preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, but that didn’t stop his head coach from shouting out his recent improvement on special teams — the area that is likely to decide which player sticks around as their No. 3 running back.
“[Roschon Johnson] flashed the other day, in particular on special teams,” Johnson said on August 22. “And we keep talking about the importance of being the No. 3 running back or depth in the running back room and being able to bring that to the table. He had a couple really nice plays in practice, can’t wait to see what it looked like on game tape, because we talked about wanting to see players stack good performances back-to-back, and he’s a candidate that may have done that tonight.”
Johnson — who has one season left on his four-year, $4.6 million rookie contract — may just outlast Ahmed and the rest of the competition if the game tape shows more growth.
Bears Projected to Cut Roschon Johnson in Favor of Ex-Dolphins RB