Jordan Howard

[Mikefive]

I don't know that "surprise with receiving ability" is going to happen. But I figure a) they will work on his hands and b) they use him in the pass game with easier catches to make. It's not like he drops everything. He's just been hit or miss on catching it.

[Boris13c]

Nagy: Jordan Howard absolutely feature back for Bears

After weeks of trade speculation, Jordan 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 coach Matt Nagy replied, "Absolutely, yeah."

"That's the beauty right now of where we're at. We're very strong at that position," Nagy added. "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's not going to happen. We're going to use multiple backs."

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.

At the same time, however, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport rejected the notion that Howard was on the trade block:

Worth noting: There is zero desire by the #Bears to trade RB Jordan Howard, sources say. Doesnt sound like there will be any splashy Jarvis Landry for Howard deal.
Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 3, 2018

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. "... Jordan has his own way of running. Anything he does that's a weakness, we're going to try to focus on that and try to get it better.