Although their season ended heartbreakingly in their playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Chicago Bears were one of the best stories of the entire 2025 NFL season in Ben Johnson's first year at the helm. A lot of that success stemmed from the running back duo of D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, as the two combined for the third-best rushing attack in the league (142.3 YPG).
The rest of Chicago's depth chart at RB behind those two, however, will look a little different going into the 2026 season. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers "are signing former Bears and Seattle Seahawks RB and special teamer Travis Homer."
This clearly opens up the RB3 job when you consider how Monangai's production fell off during the second half of last season. Brittain Brown, who is listed as RB4 on the team's depth chart, has shown some promise and is now likely to see more RB reps if he beats out Roschon Johnson, but could also be a legitimate contributor on special teams after seeing some snaps there last season, and with Homer being a starter on special teams.
Brittain Brown Could Move Up to the RB3 Role Following Travis Homer's Departure
Brown appeared sparingly for the Bears last season and was even placed on waivers before they retained him on their practice squad. With that said, he rushed for a crucial first down and had 37 yards and a TD overall in the team's 47-42 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 2, showing the types of plays that he is capable of making when he is thrust into action.
Regardless of his RB role, it is highly likely that his snaps on special teams will only increase now that Homer is gone. Furthermore, while Johnson accounted for 502 rushing yards and eight TDs during his first two seasons in the league, he had just two carries for 17 yards last season and dealt with thumb, foot, and back injuries throughout 2025.
Judging by that, it would seem likely that Brown leaps ahead of Johnson on the depth chart and assumes RB3 duties behind Swift and Monangai, potentially even earning some additional reps if Monangai's struggles to end the 2025 season continue. Despite running for 783 yards and five TDs during his rookie season, Monangai only averaged 3.7 rush yards per game in the final seven contests while accounting for zero TDs and 57 yards or fewer in each outing.
It appeared that Swift could be on his way out of Chicago and swapped for Miami Dolphins RB De'Von Achane, but that does not seem to be the case after the Dolphins revealed they have no intentions of trading Achane. Although the Bears entered the offseason in a tough financial situation with Swift set to make $6.39 million and have an $8.8 million cap hit, per Spotrac, he averaged 4.9 yards per carry with 1,087 yards and nine TDs, not to mention his 34 catches for 299 yards and a TD in the passing attack.
There is no denying Swift and Monangai as Chicago's top two backs. However, when you consider the promise that Brown showed last season, it is not out of the question that he beats out Johnson for the RB3 job and provides some additional depth behind those two on the depth chart, in addition to his likely contributions on special teams.