Getting traded to the Bears two months ago could’ve been the beginning of the end for Jakeem Grant.
It’s never a good sign to be approaching 29 and have a team bail on you by shipping you off for a sixth-round pick. Grant played just 17 snaps on offense for the Dolphins over the first four games and got the ball just twice — losing it on a fumble both times.
Ostensibly, the Bears traded for him primarily because they were thin at running back and needed to be able to move rookie Khalil Herbert off of kick returns.
But rather than signaling Grant’s demise, the trade might reinvigorate his career. The Bears told Grant from the start they wanted to use him at wide receiver and running back, and he has given them a surprise boost the last two games.
“They honestly trusted me right off the bat,” said Grant, who added that it took time for him to get the playbook down before he could be a regular offensive player. “That’s all I needed from anybody… to trust me and be able to go out there.
“In Miami, yeah, they totally gave up on me on offense. And as you can see, I’m getting put on offense and I’m doing great things here with the Bears. I love that, because that was always my message: I’m a receiver first and then a returner.”
His incredible speed — the NFL clocked him at 21 miles per hour on his 97-yard punt return for a touchdown and 46-yard touchdown catch (it was a shovel pass behind the line of scrimmage) against the Packers — could give coach Matt Nagy an opportunity to revisit the Tarik Cohen section of his playbook over the final four games.
Cohen was Nagy’s favorite weapon in 2018, but he has been out since tearing his ACL in September 2020, and there has been no indication he’ll make it back this season.
Grant played sparingly on offense until getting 19 snaps against the Lions on Thanksgiving. Over his last three games, he had eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns and two rushes for five yards.
“He’s got this great confidence level and this great attacking mentality,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said Friday. “He has proven that he can learn and be part of the offense and find ways to fit in and be out there as a third-down receiver as well as just a ‘gadget’ guy. Really, you have to give him the credit of being able to get worked into the normal offense.”
It’s an adventure every time Grant gets the ball, as he illustrated on his punt return against the Packers when he went against conventional wisdom by catching the ball at his own 3-yard line and almost got dropped for a loss at the 4 before turning sharply and outracing everyone on the field.
“He’s definitely got some guts,” tight end Cole Kmet said.
But adventures often spin into misadventures, which is why the Dolphins unloaded him. He fumbled 12 times in 70 games with them. His lone fumble with the Bears was at the end of a 32-yard kick return in the fourth quarter that gave the Steelers the ball at the Bears’ 42-yard line.
Grant and the Bears would love to minimize that downside, but it’s part of what makes him compelling to watch — there’s an incredibly wide range of possibilities every play. It’s also entertaining to see a 5-foot-7 speedster weaving through gigantic defenders.
Hold on, something about the Bears is entertaining? There hasn’t been much of that this season. While the last four games feel like a dreary end to a miserable season, at least Grant gives them something fresh and fun.
