The Los Angeles Rams struck gold with undrafted free agent running back Benny Cunningham. But he became too expensive and needed a new team.

Not only was he strong on third down, but he was also a valuable member of the special teams unit. While the Rams signed Lance Dunbar, who will surely help with third down production as a receiving commodity, his prowess on kick returns will be missed.

Let's hope our KR team doesn't skip a beat with Pharoh back there, because Benny annually was at the top of the league. — Sosa Kremenjas (@SosaNFLDraft) March 22, 2017

Cunningham averaged 27.1 yards per kick return, which is more than impressive and second-best among all active players.

Joe McAtee observed that Dunbar, his replacement, will meanwhile fill the role that Cunningham had as a receiving threat as a running back based on the production with Los Angeles (via Turf Show Times):

“Consider that Cunningham averaged more than two targets, 1.63 receptions, and nearly 13.2 receiving yards per game to complement the starting running backs over his span along with the ground game support he provided.”

Sean McVay plans to use Lance Dunbar in a role similar to what Chris Thompson had with Washington last season.

Cunningham, however, is a more prototypical running back who can thrive in that role for the Chicago Bears — who succeeded even without much help from the Rams offensive line.

While the details of the contract are not yet available besides that it is a one-year deal, we would expect Cunningham to make more than what Dunbar received from Los Angeles now that the Rams are so low on cap space.