The Bears got something — a very little something — in exchange for running back Khalil Herbert.
On Tuesday morning, hours before the NFL’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, they sent the running back to the Bengals for a seventh-round pick in 2025.
Herbert is in the final year of his contract. He was a healthy scratch Sunday — one of only two on the Bears’ active roster — for the second consecutive week.
He played only 27 offensive snaps this season, stuck behind starter D’Andre Swift — who got a three-year, $24 million deal in March — and backup Roschon Johnson. Veteran Travis Homer is a special teams stalwart for the Bears; his return from a finger injury led to Herbert being a healthy scratch.
The Bengals needed running back depth behind starter Chase Brown after Zack Moss suffered a neck injury last week. To land Herbert, they made an in-season trade for the third time in 52 years.
Herbert and his agents talked to general manager Ryan Poles about a trade leading up to the deadline.
When asked last week if he wanted to be traded, Herbert told the Sun-Times, “It’s not up to me.” Later he said he hoped to contribute for the Bears.
“I want to be here and be able to help this team when I get the opportunity,” he said.
Running backs coach Chad Morton acknowledged Herbert’s frustration in not playing on offense.
“It’s tough, right?” Morton said last week. “It’s the morale thing — just keeping him motivated so he’s not in the tank. He’s done a tremendous job of just being a pro. I love that guy to death, man. He still works hard every single time, takes all the scout team reps, hasn’t complained one time.
“You can see the sadness, he’s a human too, he wants to play, he wants to be active, he wants to help.”
Herbert ran for 1,791 rushing yards in his first three years with the team, but only had 16 rushing yards this year. The former sixth-round pick from Virginia Tech will become a free agent at the end of the year.