The Facts: Following up on the previous item. ... After weeks of trade speculation, Howard is locked in as the Chicago Bears' lead back. Asked Tuesday if Howard would be the team's featured running back for the upcoming season, new HC Matt Nagy replied, "Absolutely, yeah."

Diehards Line: Going back to early March, an NBC Sports report claimed Howard was involved in trade talks for ex-Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry. That report further suggested Nagy and his staff have concerns about the drop-prone power back's inefficiency as a pass catcher. Nagy isn't denying that receiving ability is a weakness in Howard's game but insists the Bears can work around the problem. "Every running back has their own strengths and weaknesses," Nagy explained Tuesday. "We're very strong at that position. To have (Tarik) Cohen there as well. You're seeing all of these teams that are out there right now, they're going with multiple backs. To sit here and say a feature back, yeah, he's going to be the guy who lines up and gets the ball. But at the same time, we're crazy if we use [just] one back." That makes perfect sense. Just as Howard struggles as a receiver (14 drops on 76 career targets, per Pro Football Focus), the 5--6 Cohen lacks the power to sustain a ground attack between the tackles. Nagy plans to move both backs around, maximizing their value with situational concepts that play to their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses.