The Bears have extended running back D’Andre Swift to a three-year deal worth $33.75 million with $27.5 million guaranteed. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news on Friday.
With a yearly annual salary of slightly over $11.2 million per year over the course of the deal, Swift will become the No. 14 running back by AAV once his new contract kicks in. His current three-year contract was set to expire at the end of the 2026 season, so this new contract locks him down with Chicago through the end of the 2029
campaign.
Swift, 27, is coming off his second season with over 1,000 rushing yards in his career. His total of 1,087 rushing yards is the highest he’s had in a single season thus far, and his yards per carry in 2025 jumped to a 4.9 average after a measly 3.8 average with Chicago in 2024.
Though he was brought in while Shane Waldron was still the Bears’ offensive coordinator, Swift’s fit in Ben Johnson’s system is obvious. The two overlapped briefly in Detroit with solid results, and Swift put together an impressive campaign under Johnson in 2025. Johnson’s run scheme, which relies heavily on outside-zone runs to stretch out opposing defenses, plays right into the strengths of Swift, who can use his athleticism to either beat defenders to the edge or to bounce inside and cut with ideal explosiveness and decisiveness.
From an analytical perspective, Swift is coming off a career year. In addition to reaching his career high in rushing yards, he also ended 2025 with a career-high 79.7 PFN RB Impact Score, ranking No. 10 in the NFL. His 15.4 rushing EPA ranked third among all NFL running backs, which speaks to how efficient the Bears’ offense was when they handed him the ball. He also ranked third among running backs in both boom/bust rate and elusive rate in 2025.
Judging by the guarantees, the Bears will likely have a reasonable out in Swift’s contract after the 2028 season. He’ll be 31 years old by the time his new deal comes off the books, so if the dreaded regression after 30 years old hits him, Chicago will have the chance to free his contract up. That said, he was a tremendous performer for the Bears in 2025, and this new contract locks him down as a key part of the team’s offense for the remainder of Caleb Williams’ rookie contract.
