The Chicago Bears have a promising running back waiting for his turn. And now that a major injury could force the Los Angeles Chargers to trade for a ball-carrier, Kyle Monangai might be licking his chops.
There aren't many options potentially available at the running back position. And now that the Chargers lost star rookie Omarion Hampton, they would be wise to pick up the phone and inquire about D'Andre Swift's availability.
The Chargers Should Trade For D'Andre Swift
The Chargers lost much more than just a game on Sunday. Hampton sustained an ankle injury and was spotted in a walking boot; he's now expected to be out for weeks. Jim Harbaugh's team had already lost Najee Harris for the season, leaving Los Angeles with a RB room consisting of Hassan Haskins, Kimani Vidal, and Amar Johnson. With all due respect, that's not what one would expect from a playoff-hopeful team, much less one that deploys Greg Roman's run-heavy offense.
Swift hasn't been that good this season for the Bears. He's up to 56 carries for 187 yards and two touchdowns, averaging roughly 3.3 yards per carry. He's also hauled in 13 receptions on 18 targets for 85 yards.
Through the first four weeks of the season, the Bears average just 102.3 rushing yards per game, which is good for 24th in the league. If you consider the fact that Caleb Williams is second on the team with 110 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, those numbers are even more worrisome.
That should give the Bears more than enough incentives to take a closer look at rookie Kyle Monangai. So far, he's only logged 17 carries for 62 yards, meaning this would be a bit of a gamble on Chicago's part should Monangai prove not to be ready for such a role. On the flip side, it also allows Poles the opportunity to sell high on Swift, who's still on the books for another season.
It's not that the Bears desperately need to move on from Swift, but Ben Johnson knows how important it is to have a dynamic running attack, and that simply hasn't been the case so far this season. Also, the laws of supply and demand suggest that the Bears could fetch a valuable return from the desperate Chargers.
Getting a day two selection for the former Detroit Lions back should be more than enough for the Bears to pull the plug on him and ship him right over to SoFi Stadium, especially if Monangai makes the most of his chances in practice this week.