One of the more interesting names to discuss when looking at futures with the Chicago Bears is running back D’Andre Swift. Swift was brought in by Ryan Poles before the 2024 season and had a subpar year, failing to reach 1,000 yards and averaging less than 4 yards per carry (3.8).
Many thought (myself included) that Ben Johnson would want to move off Swift as quickly as possible. When Johnson was a play-caller in Detroit with Swift, he first reduced his role, and Swift was sent to Philadelphia not
long after.
There was an assumption that Johnson didn’t particularly care for Swift’s play in Detroit, and while it’s possible that was true then, it doesn’t appear to be true now.
Swift had an excellent season last year, increasing his touchdown total by 50% and raising his yards-per-carry average by 1.1 yards. He ran downhill; he played hard; he did everything Ben Johnson asked of him. Swift definitely outplayed his $8m per year salary.
Swift enters the final year of his contract, and it’s a pretty safe assumption that the Bears aren’t going to extend him this offseason. But what should the plan be for 2027? Is it worth extending him before the new league year begins this upcoming March?
D’Andre Swift: Stash
At this point, it’s just too difficult to determine what the Bears should do with Swift. Swift is currently the 18th-highest-paid running back, and if he is interested in returning to Chicago for similar money or a slight raise, it would make sense to give him another contract.
But if Swift has a similar season to what he had in 2025, he may be looking for a hefty pay raise. If Swift is looking to become one of the 10 highest-paid running backs in the NFL and looking for a salary around $15 million, that’s just not something the Bears should be interested in doing.
The Bears are going to have a lot of work to do on the 2027 roster. Sure, the offense is largely stabilized, but the defense is going to need a ton of players, both in free agency and through the draft, infused into that unit to make it more functional. The Bears are going to have to allocate their financial resources to a Caleb Williams extension and to multiple pieces on the defense.
With that in mind, that may make them restrained with what they can do at running back. If Swift wants a big raise, that probably can’t happen, but if Swift is gone, using a high draft pick on a running back when the defense needs multiple young pieces added to it with day 1 and day 2 picks also may not be something that makes a lot of sense for Chicago to do either.
Kyle Monangai was a great story as a seventh-round rookie, but I also think most fans can look at Monangai and realize he’s in a great role right now as a complementary back. He probably doesn’t have the shiftiness and explosiveness you need out of your primary back, so letting Swift walk and letting Kyle become the workhorse also isn’t the best plan.
With all these moving parts and multiple things up in the air, it makes a lot of sense for the Bears to see how Swift looks in year two of the Ben Johnson offense, make sure he is still running with the same determination he showed in 2025, and if he looks good and his salary demands are reasonable, you can make a decision late in the season or before the new league year to give him a new contract and keep him around.
The Bears’ running back room is thin. There really isn’t anything developing right now behind Swift and Monangai so it’s probably best to see if they can play this out this year, keep Swift on an affordable deal, and start figuring out the Bears RB room 2.0 in 2027.
