The Chicago Bears didn’t make any major additions ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but the franchise has been a significant offseason player in each of the past two springs.
There is a reasonable chance Chicago will be active for big-name acquisitions come March of 2026 as well, even despite having far less available salary cap space this time around than the last two offseasons. The team currently has less than $3 million in room for 2026, per Over The Cap, though general manager Ryan Poles is likely to maneuver for considerably more before free agency gets underway.
One thing the Bears already do well under new head coach Ben Johnson is run the football, as the offense ranks second at 147.3 rushing yards per game. However, quarterback Caleb Williams is a significant part of that with 48 carries for 246 yards and three scores on the ground through nine games this season.
Chicago is going to want to move away from Williams as a staple of the run game come 2026, and doing so may well require the addition of a bonafide No. 1 back via free agency. A solution staring the franchise in the face is to ink New York Jets running back Breece Hall, who will become a free agent in March after the Jets shopped him ahead of the deadline.
Hall has 664 rushing yards and two scores on 4.8 yards per carry to go along with 22 catches for 220 receiving yards and a touchdown, all despite the Jets being one of the worst teams in the NFL. Spotrac projects Hall’s market value at $42 million over a new four-year contract ($10.5 million annually), which is a sizable amount at the position but could make sense/work for Chicago for a variety of reasons.
D’Andre Swift Expendable to Bears Offense
GettyChicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift.
D’Andre Swift has played well for Johnson this season, putting up 544 ground yards and four scores at a clip of 4.8 yards per rush.
That said, Johnson moved on from Swift as offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, as that team invested heavily at the RB position in the form of drafting Jahmyr Gibbs with a first-round pick and signing ex-Bears rusher David Montgomery to a lucrative deal (he currently earns more than $9 million in annual average salary).
The Bears are paying Swift on a three-year deal worth $24 million that runs through 2026. However, the team can get out of that contract before its final season by paying a dead cap hit of just $1.33 million and save $7.5 million against the cap.
Chicago could easily turn around and cover roughly 75 percent of Hall’s market value with the money it saves by moving on from Swift. Hall is two years younger than Swift and potentially more suitable for Johnson’s offense. And the Bears could replicate to a degree what Johnson had with the Lions due to the breakout year that seventh-round rookie RB Kyle Monangai is having in Chicago this season.
Bears Can Clear Big Cap Room by Trading Wide Receiver DJ Moore Next Offseason
GettyWide receiver DJ Moore of the Chicago Bears.
One could also make the argument that because Chicago hit so well on Monangai in the seventh-round, the team could look to select a replacement for Swift somewhere in the middle of next year’s draft and spend considerably less money at the position.
That makes sense, of course, but it also comes with a risk that signing Hall bypasses. Johnson wants to establish a top-flight running game, as it is crucial to his offensive scheme. He also prefers to play in two tight-end sets (12 personnel), from which the Bears would be consistent threats to run the football or pass effectively with Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet lined up on either end of the offensive line.
If Chicago releases Swift and drafts a running back, it could use the $7.5 million in cap space toward a position of greater need, such as edge-rusher. However, the team could also look to trade wide receiver DJ Moore ahead of his $110 million contract extension kicking in come the 2026 season and clear another $28.5 million in cap space come the spring.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell suggested 0n October 30 the possibility of the Bears dealing Moore ahead of the trade deadline, adding that an offseason move would make even more sense. Combining such a trade with the release of Swift would clear $36 million in space, pushing Chicago’s range of spendable salary near $40 million.
In that scenario, a deal for Hall at his projected value would represent just over 25 percent of the Bears’ available cap room, with wide receiver Rome Odunze set to take over as the clear No. 1 option on the outside and wideout Luther Burden III assuming the full-time role in the slot.
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