There are a number of battles going on for the Chicago Bears during training camp and preseason, including running back depth behind D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Assuming the Bears carry three running backs like last year's initial 53-man roster, there's one spot available between Roschon Johnson and Salvon Ahmed, among others. And the competition kicked into gear during Saturday's preseason opener against the Clelvenad Browns. Johnson got the most carries out of any running back in the Bears’ win against the Browns. He finished the game with eight rushes for 34 yards, including a 19-yard gain that set up Chicago’s first touchdown of the preseason midway through the second quarter.
Ahmed did not get as many rushing opportunities, as he only had two rushing attempts, but he turned those attempts into 17 yards. However, he made a difference as a pass catcher with three receptions for 55 yards including a 49-yard touchdown to give the Bears a 17-10 lead at the beginning of the third quarter. Head coach Ben Johnson had a lot of praise for Ahmed after the game. "Yeah, we feel good about those top two backs right now and where they’re at. So, the battle for three, four, five, whatever that looks like, a lot comes down to special teams," Johnson said. "A lot comes down to how do you separate yourself from those top two guys? What’s your skillset? How’s it different? He got that slashing mentality where he’s hard to bring down in space, and that showed up again today. Showed up in practice really throughout camp so far. We’ll continue to challenge him to find a defined role there on special teams where he can help us out the most there. And then pass protection, how do we continue to improve? When you’re a little bit smaller as a running back… that’s always what I’m looking for is, how well, how stout are we holding up to a blitzing linebacker as well." Ahmed has not played in a regular season game since 2023, but he did get some reps on special teams back in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Roschon Johnson has also been a special teamer the past three years, so both players could be useful in punt and kickoff coverage this year. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson talks Bears' running back battle after preseason opener