The Bears have signed Kevin Jones to a 1-year deal.  He will battle Matt Forte for the starting job at tailback as long as he is healthy.  Jones played in 13 games (10 starts) for the Lions last season and he carried the ball 153 times for 581 yards (3.8 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 32 passes for 197 yards (6.2 avg) last year.  Jones is strong enough to run up the middle at 6’0″, 228 pounds and he’s fast enough to get to the corner when he’s healthy.  Jones has now played in 53 games (39 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 761 times for 3,067 yards (4.0 ypc) with 24 TD runs.  He has also caught 141 passes for 1,006 yards (7.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  This was a risk worth taking for the Bears who needed some help at running back for the 2008 season.

Jason McKie’s blocking was a little bit off last season and J.D. Runnels didn’t play at all last season.  The Bears will need help from these two guys if they are to have any chance of having a decent running game in 2008.  McKie is 5’11″, 245 pounds so he has enough sand in his shoes to take care of linebackers as a lead blocker.  He played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 6 times for 17 yards (2.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  McKie also caught 9 passes for 33 yards (3.7 avg).  Don’t look for McKie to get the ball much in 2008 but if he blocks well he will be doing wonders for the offense.  McKie has now played in 61 games (27 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 18 times for 58 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 52 passes for 287 yards (5.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his career.

J.D. Runnels is 5’11″, 237 pounds and he was often the lead blocker in college for Oklahoma when Adrian Peterson was there.  He could give McKie a fight for his starting job this season.  Runnels didn’t play at all last season and he has played in only 2 games (0 starts) in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C