The Chicago Bears are one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, and the team is likely to make upgrades to the position come next spring.
An emerging candidate for the Bears in free agency next March is breakout star Rico Dowdle of the Carolina Panthers. Dowdle, 27, has proven an unexpected beast for the Panthers in 2025, rushing for 833 yards and five TDs on 5.0 yards per carry, even despite sharing duties with Chuba Hubbard.
Dowdle is bound for free agency following what is pacing as a career year after he tallied 1,079 rushing yards for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. He spoke on Friday, November 21 about his mentality and framing every game as an audition for his next job, which could represent the only major payday of his career.
“Every week is an audition for me, being on a one-year contract,” Dowdle said. “All 31 teams are always watching. So I wouldn’t say just this week in particular, but I definitely know I’ve got to go out there and do my best.”
Bears’ Run Game Already Elite, Can Get Even Better During Offseason
GettyHead coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
Chicago is fourth in overall offense at 373.8 yards per game, largely because the rush attack is second in the league at 146.6 yards per contest.
A logical question then is why would the Bears change anything heading into 2026 if the run game is already this good? The answer is two-fold: contractual value and how Chicago has come by the second-best rushing attack in the league through Week 11 in the first place.
Starting with the latter, the Bears’ offensive line is dramatically improved in this regard compared to 2024.
“One-year offensive line makeovers are typically the stuff of myths, but Chicago’s four new starters along the line have come together swimmingly,” Ben Solak of ESPN wrote November 18. “Chicago leads the league in expected yards per carry, per NFL Next Gen Stats. In other words, the blocking and space when the back gets the ball is better in Chicago than anywhere else in the league.”
Bears Can Seek Better Fit at Better Value by Moving on From D’Andre Swift Next Offseason
GettyChicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift.
The second piece of the puzzle is the value the Bears could out of signing a player like Dowdle and parting with RB1 D’Andre Swift heading into the final season of his contract.
Chicago can save $7.5 million by moving on from Swift this offseason. The cost of doing so will be $1.33 million in the form of a dead salary cap hit. Swift has been solid, rushing for 634 yards and four scores at 4.7 yards per clip over nine games.
But Johnson traded Swift ahead of the 2023 campaign while offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, which is proof he believes there are better fits for his offense — even despite the fact that Swift earned a Pro-Bowl nod with the Philadelphia Eagles before inking a nice deal in Chicago.
Seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai has already shown his value as a viable RB2, and potentially more. The Bears might look for a running back in the 2026 draft, but probably won’t in the early rounds given serious needs on the defense.
As such, Chicago profiles as a team that might look to make a moderate RB signing with upside via free agency, which is exactly what Dowdle will be. Spotrac projects his market value at $7.8 million annually over a new two-year deal.
That is the type of medium-risk, high-reward play that will make sense for the Bears if they are looking for an upgrade next spring. And if Dowdle falls off, Monangai will be in his second year and the team can reset in 2027, potentially looking for a high draft pick at the position like Johnson did when the Lions drafted Jahmyr Gibbs No. 12 overall in 2023.
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