NFL Trade Deadline: Bears trade RB Khalil Herbert to Bengals

The Chicago Bears have traded running back Khalil Herbert to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick, the team announced Tuesday.

We have traded Khalil Herbert to the Bengals in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 5, 2024

It’s a disappointing end to Herbert’s once-promising tenure as a Bear. A former sixth-round pick, Herbert outplayed his draft status over four seasons in Chicago. He totaled 372 carries for 1,791 yards and nine touchdowns, sporting an impressive 4.8 yards per carry, including a whopping 5.7 yards per carry in 2022.

Herbert became an afterthought in the Bears’ offense after the team signed D’Andre Swift in free agency. Second-year back Roschon Johnson eventually leapfrogged Herbert as the primary backup, leaving little to no opportunity for the one-cut-and-go runner to make an impact.

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Trading Khalil Herbert makes sense, considering he’s in the final year of his contract and, at best, would be nothing more than a backup if re-signed in the offseason. Adding a day-three pick gives the Bears another crack at finding a gem in the 2025 draft.

The trade is great for Herbert, too, who should immediately enter a rotation in the Bengals backfield with Chase Brown.