Howard told he's staying with Bears

Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard apparently is no longer on the trade market.

Howard said his agent, Adisa Bakari, was told by the Bears that he will be staying in the Windy City, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.

"They told my agent they had no plans to trade me or anything like that," Howard told the newspaper. "So that's comforting."

Howard's name surfaced in reports early last month that he could be shipped to the Miami Dolphins as part of a package for wide receiver Jarvis Landry, but a league source later refuted the story.

The 23-year-old Howard has rushed for more 1,100 yards in each of his first two seasons and scored 15 touchdowns on the ground. He also had 52 receptions and a score in that span.

Howard told the Tribune he is excited about working in the offense of new head coach Matt Nagy, although there have been questions of how well he is suited to Nagy's schemes.

While serving as the offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, Nagy utilized running backs heavily in the passing attack.

Despite Howard's individual success last season, Chicago ranked third-worst in average yards per game (287.4) and dead last with 175.7 passing yards per contest.