Addition by subtraction mostly is a myth when it comes to good football players.



Exceptions exist, of course, like when a player is culturally toxic. But usually, when losing a good football player, subtraction is subtraction.



It is a lesson that is likely to be reinforced this year in Pittsburgh (goodbye Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell), New York (farewell OBJ and Landon Collins), New England (see ya Gronk and Trent Brown), Kansas City (so long Dee Ford and Eric Berry) and other places.



Among those places is Chicago, where Jordan Howard used to move chains and bruise tacklers. Howard was traded by the Bears to the Eagles for either a 2020 sixth-round pick or a fifth-round pick, depending on how he performs. Whatever the pick, the player selected is not likely to contribute as much as Howard did for the Bears, nor as much as Howard will for the Eagles.



Bears head coach Matt Nagy has his fingerprints on the trade. General manager Ryan Pace...