With decision looming this month, new Bears GM mum about Tarik Cohen’s health

INDIANAPOLIS — Like his predecessor, new Bears general manager Ryan Poles refused to detail the health of Tarik Cohen — or even whether he was currently healthy at all — at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. The running back has missed the team’s last 30 regular-season games since tearing the ACL in his right knee while returning a punt against the Falcons in 2020.

Poles was asked whether he was healthy — and danced around the question. That spoke volumes.

“You know, I don’t really want to get into the medical piece of individual players,” Poles said. “But we’ll just take it a day at a time to figure out where he’s at for us.”

That doesn’t figure to bode well for Cohen’s future with the team. Cohen, who signed a three-year contract just days before suffering the injury, has $2.5 million of his $3.9 million base salary that will guarantee in the days after the league year begins March 16. Cohen would have a $5.75 million cap hit if the Bears keep him, and $3.5 million in dead cap charges if they cut him.

The Bears, then, have a decision to make. The franchise has offered little specifics over the last year-and-a-half when asked about Cohen’s injury, which typically requires a nine-month recovery time. Former Bears coach Matt Nagy refused to say whether Cohen required a second surgery on his knee.

Poles said making decisions about Cohen’s future by evaluating his health will come down to “communication and conversations” with head athletic trainer Andre Tucker.

“Andre Tucker’s one of the best in the league,” he said. “And we’re just going to have those conversations to see where everything stands and make the best decision we can make at that time.”

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