The Chicago Bears were one of the worst rushing offenses in the league over the first month of the season, but that has changed in more than one meaningful way over the last four games.
Starter D’Andre Swift put together back-to-back 100-plus-yard efforts in Week 6 and 7 against the Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints, respectively. He slowed down in Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens and missed the team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, November 2, due to a groin injury.
Seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai stepped in for Swift and blew up the Bengals defense, posting 6.8 rushing yards per attempt with 176 total yards on the ground across 26 carries. He also made three catches for 22 receiving yards.
Monangai earned a game ball following the Bears’ 47-42 road victory and offered a short speech, during which he spoke of his intentions to remain the starter.
“Hey, I appreciate everybody in this room, man,” Monangai said. “It was my first start. Nobody knew what I was gonna do, but I told ya’ll I was gonna step up to the plate. Whatever I gotta do to get the next one.”
Swift’s return timetable remains unclear, so Monangai might have gotten the start in Week 10 against the New York Giants anyway. However, he clearly did enough against the Bengals to show that he deserves more work game to game, and Chicago must now seriously consider him as a possibility to start down the stretch of 2025 and into the future.
Kyle Monangai Offers Bears More Long-Term Value Than D’Andre Swift
GettyRunning back Kyle Monangai of the Chicago Bears.
It is easy to get carried away when a player puts up an afternoon like Monangai did on Sunday, and it is more than worth noting that Cincinnati fields literally the worst defense in the NFL, affording opponents 166.4 rushing yards (32nd), 426.6 total yards (32nd) and 33.3 points per game (32nd), according to ESPN statistics.
But Monangai has played well as RB2 in previous outings this season as well, rushing for 81 yards and a score on 13 carries against the Saints two weeks ago. His per carry average this year is impressive at 5.3 yards.
Then there is the value question to consider. As the 233rd overall pick in the draft, Monangai is in the first season of a four-year rookie deal that pays him only $4.3 million over the life of the contract. Meanwhile, Swift is in the second season of a three-year agreement worth $24 million total.
D’Andre Swift Strong Cut Candidate for Bears Next Offseason
GettyRunning back D’Andre Swift of the Chicago Bears.
The value question isn’t one Chicago needs to consider for the remainder of this season, but next March it becomes a major conversation.
The Bears have a built-in out on Swift’s contract next offseason, which costs the team a dead cap hit of just $1.33 million. That would equate to a cap savings of $7.5 million if Chicago moves on from the running back.
Head coach Ben Johnson built a two-headed monster in the offensive backfield while running the Detroit Lions offense as coordinator over the last three years, pairing Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. In doing so, he helped facilitate a trade of Swift out of Detroit to the Philadelphia Eagles.
And while Swift earned Pro Bowl honors during his one season in Philly in 2023, his production dipped during his first year in Chicago before he got off to a rough start this season. Now injured, Swift has produced only two big games for the Bears in 2025.
Thus, the franchise has legitimate reason to feature Monangai more and see what it has in the rookie, who this version of Chicago leadership studied and drafted. If the Bears can part ways with Swift next offseason, replace him with a quality producer more suited to Johnson’s offensive style and utilize the extra $7.5 million (minus what the new RB gets paid) elsewhere, that is a considerable win for the organization.
Doing so, however, requires the Bears to give Monangai plenty of run so they can evaluate him — an opportunity he earned on Sunday by producing the best outing of any Chicago running back all season by a good amount.
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