Tarik

Cohen

At his peak, Cohen was a speedy and shifty back who wowed everyone with his ability to shake any defender out of his shoes. Known as “The Human Joystick,” Cohen totaled 2676 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns in his first four years as a pro, but a myriad of devastating injuries have followed him in recent seasons. Cohen suffered a torn ACL and MCL, along with a tibia fracture during the 2020 season, and missed all of 2021 as a result. In 2022, he suffered a torn Achilles while training in hopes of a return. He caught on with the Panthers practice squad last season but didn’t play a down of regular season football. After a week in Jets minicamp, the former fourth-round pick has opted to call it quits just days after his 29th birthday.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Cohen was signed primary to handle kickoff returns. Cohen, who hasn’t taken a regular season snap since the 2020 season, will try to make the Jets roster this summer. He’s suffered both an ACL tear and an Achilles tear during his pro career and has struggled to get back to the form he displayed in his first couple seasons with the Bears. Cohen had a combined 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2018 as a scat back in Chicago.

Cohen hasn’t taken a regular season snap since 2020, when his season ended with a torn ACL. A torn Achilles in 2022 ended his comeback attempt, but he was able to catch on with the Panthers last September and spent the remainder of the season on their practice squad. He now finds himself without a job after that nine-month stint. Set to turn 29 before the start of the season; it will be interesting to see if another team takes a shot on the vet.

Cohen was one of 11 players signed to a futures deal by the Panthers on Monday. The veteran running back spent most of the 2023 season on the Panthers’ practice squad, working his way back from a number of devastating injuries in recent seasons. Cohen suffered a torn ACL in 2020, only to return in 2022 and suffer a torn Achilles during a training session. He’ll be 29 at the start of next season and could have a chance to earn a roster spot in camp.

Cohen was signed to the Panthers’ practice squad earlier this month, but hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2020. The former Bears running back has been held back by a series of knee injuries while away, but could have a chance to factor in on special teams and offense for the Panthers as he gets more reps under his belt. Cohen doesn’t have any fantasy relevance until we see him in regular season action. Even then, it’s possible his comeback story outweighs whatever he does from a fantasy perspective.

Former Bears RB Tarik Cohen is making his return to the NFL via the Panthers’ practice squad. Cohen was marred with injuries the past three years, last playing a game in 2020 before dealing with a series of serious knee injuries. Prior to that, he was one of the league’s top receiving backs, totaling 1,534 receiving yards from 2017-2019. Cohen will be on Carolina’s practice squad to start his burgeoning comeback story.

It appeared to be a pretty serious injury, with an audible pop. It could very well be (and has been speculated by many to be) an Achilles tear. Cohen was released by the Bears in March and trying to rehab to find a new NFL fit after a 2020 ACL tear sidelined him for the entirety of 2021.

Cohen was streaming his workout live on Instagram when he suffered the injury. He missed all of the 2021 season because of a torn ACL he suffered in Week 3 of the previous year. The slew of injuries could bring Cohen’s career to a close and will certainly keep him off a roster for the foreseeable future. Cohen was one of the league’s elite pass-catching backs before 2020, catching 203 balls for 1,534 yards in his first three seasons.

Cohen is still recovering from a horrific 2020 knee injury that kept him sidelined for the entirety of 2021. The Bears released him after he wasn’t able to pass a team physical. An electric pass-catching back before injuring his knee, Cohen’s goal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, is to be ready for the start of the 2022 season. We’ll believe that when we see it. As recently as 2019, Cohen served as a decent PPR option, catching 79 of 104 targets for the Bears. He was the 11th highest scoring running back in PPR fantasy leagues in 2018. Cohen, 26, should land on a roster in free agency.

Cohen is out for at least the first six games of 2021. This isn’t a surprise considering he missed the entire preseason. There is still no timetable for Cohen’s return as the electric pass-catcher tries to work his way back from the ACL injury he suffered in 2020. In the meantime, Damien Williams will serve as David Montgomery’s backup and perhaps get some work as a receiver. Rookie Khalil Herbert will fill the RB3 role.