J.P Holtz and Rashaad Coward return to the Bears

At some point in the last few days the Chicago Bears updated the roster page on their website to reflect that both tight end J.P. Holtz and offensive lineman Rashaad Coward were back on the team.

The 26-years old Holtz was an exclusive rights free agent and Coward, 25-years old, was a restricted free agent, but there was never an official announcement from the team or via the NFL’s transaction wire about them returning to Chicago. Perhaps there was an accounting snafu from the Bears, or perhaps these two players were just lost in the league shuffle of players, but regardless, both seem to be back to compete for a roster spot.

Holtz (14 games and 7 starts) was arguably the teams most versatile tight end a year ago as he lined up in the backfield, inline, and occasionally split out. He should be in the mix to play some Y and fullback in 2020.

Coward received the bulk of the playing time at right guard a year ago (13 games with 10 starts), but his place in the starting lineup is far from a lock in 2020. He’s still relatively new to offensive line so there could be some upside there, but we’ll need to see how he works with new o-line coach Juan Castillo.

What are our thoughts on these two Bears returning for the 2020 season?