Derrick Henry and Najee Harris are right. Nobody wants to pay running backs, and the Bears are no different.

They let 26-year-old David Montgomery walk away after four seasons as their leading rusher, believing him to be immediately replaceable. They’ll see him twice this season, as he landed a three-year, $18 million deal with NFC North rival Detroit. In the meantime, Matt Eberflus’ Bears will develop a rebuilt group of running backs to complement the breakaway threat of quarterback Justin Fields.

Khalil Herbert, a third-year player acquired in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, was graded more highly than Montgomery by Pro Football Focus last season. He’s averaged 5.0 yards per carry as a pro but he’s started only three games and averaged fewer than eight carries per game. It remains to be seen how he’ll do as the primary replacement for Montgomery, who took a beating as the Bears’ workhorse.

Rather than re-sign Montgomery, the Bears signed Travis Homer to a two-year, $4-million contract and D’Onta Foreman to a one-year deal for $2 million while also drafting Roschon Johnson from the University of Texas in the fourth round. Trestan Ebner, used mostly on special teams last season, returns for his second season.

Johnson seemingly has the most upside outside of perhaps Herbert. Despite playing behind Bijan Robinson, he averaged 5.6 yards per carry while scoring 23 rushing touchdowns for the Longhorns. His powerful, straight-ahead running style is similar to Montgomery and scouting reports suggest he can be valuable in pass protection.

The running back mix tops this list of five things to watch when the Bears report to camp. Other questions that will command attention:

The Bears have $31.6 million in cap space, the most in the NFL according to Spotrac, and there are plenty of interesting free agents available. It will be intriguing to see if General Manager Ryan Poles makes any late signings or waiver claims.

The edge rusher spot is of particular interest. Poles imported only unproven free agent DeMarcus Robinson even though the Bears were last in the league with 20 sacks. Among the linemen, only Trevis Gipson and Justin Jones had as many as three sacks.

Jadeveon Clowney, Duwuane Smoot and Yannick Ngakoue remain available and could become available on short-term deals as the calendar moves closer to the regular season. The wide receiver list is thin but there are proven running backs and offensive linemen still available if Poles becomes inclined to add a veteran or two. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports they have some interest in free agent cornerback Arthur Maulet, who was released by Pittsburgh in May.

At least four players from this year’s draft class — cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, interior linemen Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zaach Pickens and right tackle Darnell Wright — are being given the opportunity to start or contribute heavily in the Sept. 10 opener against the Packers.

The Bears think enough of Stevenson that they traded up to select him in the second round. They wound up with Dexter and Pickens after passing on University of Georgia nose tackle Jalen Carter, who went to the Eagles before the Bears selected the 335-pound Wright with the tenth pick overall.

Wide receiver Tyler Scott is another rookie to keep an eye on. He had only 87 career catches at the University of Cincinnati but averaged 16.5 yards with those catches, showing both speed and route-running skills. Poles took him in the fourth round and hopes the 5-11 receiver will blossom behind veterans D.J. Moore, Chase Claypool and Darnell Mooney.

The former Indianapolis defensive coordinator suffered through a 2022 season in which the Bears allowed a league-worst 27.2 points per game, including 33.1 per game during the season-ending 10-game losing streak. It was a transition season in terms of both personnel and the shift to Eberflus’ one-gap 4-3 defensive scheme but it will be tougher to write off Year Two.

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, signed to a four-year, $72 million contract, arrives from Buffalo with big expectations. Fellow free agent linebacker T.J. Edwards will also anchor a young core of players in front of seventh-year safety Eddie Jackson. The hope is that Jones and the other linemen will do a much better job keeping plays in front of them after allowing 157 rushing yards per game, the second worst total in the league.

This is the $200-million question for Fields, whose development is the No. 1 story line for the season. Moore averaged 82 catches and 1175 yards in Carolina from 2019 through ’21 before a down season in ’22, when the Panthers used Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker and Baker Mayfield at quarterback.

Moore will be the highest paid Bear this season at just under $20 million and at age 26 is under the team’s control for three years. He seems almost guaranteed to produce his fourth career 1,000-yard season provided the offensive line limits the number of times Fields has to improvise plays.

The Bears need their other receivers to let Fields spread the ball around to keep opponents from double- and triple-teaming Moore throughout games. It doesn’t help that Claypool has been put on the PUP list to start camp. He and Mooney are expected to be the top targets behind Moore. The stakes are extremely high for Fields, who needs to become a reliable passer to merit the contract extension that will keep him in charge beyond 2023.