Bears RB Khalil Herbert (hip) will be designated to return from IR and practice this week. HC Matt Eberflus hinted last week that Herbert was on track to return for Week 16's meeting with the Bills. He averaged 9.3 carries and 54 rushing yards over his last 6 games alongside David Montgomery but totaled just 2 targets during that stretch. Herbert ranked 28th among RBs in non-PPR points across those 6 weeks; 31st in PPR. He's worth owning in most fantasy leagues -- but more as a Montgomery handcuff than Week 16 starter. Herbert's return is a slight ding to Montgomery's fantasy value.

Bears RB Khalil Herbert garnered just 7 carries in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. He took those for a solid 35 yards (5.0 per rush), while ceding the other 4 RB carries to rookie Roschon Johnson. Chicago ran the ball just 16 times for the game, including four rushes for QB Justin Fields. Herbert edged Johnson 3-2 in targets but caught just one for 23 yards. RB D'Onta Foreman was a healthy scratch for the game, leaving Herbert and Johnson splitting all the work. But the Bears went 68.6% pass for the game, even leaning that way in the first half. If Chicago continues to enjoy playing from behind so much, Herbert will struggle to get enough touch volume to be fantasy viable.

Bears RB Khalil Herbert struggled in Week 1 vs. the Packers, tallying only 27 rushing yards on 9 carries in the divisional loss. He also added 3 catches on 5 targets for 37 yards as a receiver. Despite winning the RB1 job outright in training camp, Herbert fell victim to rookie Roschon Johnson vulturing a goal-line TD in the fourth quarter of play. Johnson also received more targets (7) and only 2 fewer touch opportunities than Herbert in Week 1. The distribution of the RB workloard was so messy that it’ll be tough to trust any Bears back in Week 2 vs. the Buccaneers. However, that shouldn’t stop fantasy managers from checking Johnson’s availability off the waiver wire in deep leagues.

We saw different usage in the Bears backfield in Saturday's preseason finale vs. the Bills. RB Khalil Herbert played the first- and second-down snaps on the first two drives. But he was replaced by RB Roschon Johnson for 3rd-and-10 and 3rd-and-11 snaps. RB D'Onta Foreman played the third drive. Herbert remains the top fantasy option in this backfield, but it doesn't look like his role will be as valuable as we thought after the preseason opener, when he played all seven of QB Justin Fields' snaps.

According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, Bears HC Matt Eberflus said on Wednesday that RB Khalil Herbert "hasn't done anything to lose the job" of being the team's starter. Eberflus also mentioned that rookie Roschon Johnson "has done a nice job competing" but didn't say much about the other Chicago backs. This news certainly bodes well for Herbert's odds of carrying a majority of the workload this season. Of course, QB Justin Fields will have his share of rushing attempts that take away from him. But if Herbert continues to stave off his backfield competition, he'll be a solid RB3/flex candidate in lineups in 2023. See where Herbert slots in our current RB rankings.

You've probably seen Bears RB Khalil Herbert's 56-yard catch-and-run TD in Saturday's preseason opener by now. But the more important note from that game was that Herbert was on the field for all seven of QB Justin Fields' snaps. RBs D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson didn't play at all with the first-team offense. It's a small sample -- and Herbert obviously won't be a 100% snap rate player in the regular season. But the first glimpse we've gotten of this 2023 Bears offense has Herbert looking like the clear lead back. He's climbing our RB rankings.