There are high hopes in the Windy City after a successful first season with Ben Johnson as head coach, despite a Divisional Round loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Aside from quarterback Caleb Williams' heroics and the defense's ability to create takeaways, the running back duo of D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai proved to be one of the most lethal in the entire league, if not two of the most important players on Chicago's roster.
The RB tandem helped the Bears average the third-most rush yards per game (142.3 YPG), only behind the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. Swift led the way with 1,087 yards and nine TDs; however, with only one year left on his contract, Chicago fans seem pretty split on his status going forward.
Furthermore, Chicago's cap situation is not ideal, as the team is currently projected to be nearly $10 million over next season's budget. Cap casualties happen all the time, though, and no team is immune. If the Bears can save over $7.4 million by cutting or trading him, per Spotrac, making a potential divorce hard to ignore.
While that may be true and cutting him would help general manager Ryan Poles' planning, Swift has put up career numbers and is more than worthy of finishing out his contract with Chicago. Still, with potential free-agent replacements available in March, a split deserves some discussion.
Bears Can't Rule Out a Potential D'Andre Swift Exit
With a career-high 1,386 total scrimmage yards, the league's 16th-highest-paid RB more than lived up to expectations alongside Monangai and should without a doubt return to the team next season. However, while sticking with him for his final year on the contract makes sense, there is also some bigger upside the Bears may want to chase with someone like Breece Hall, Travis Etienne Jr., or Kenneth Walker III in free agency.
Hall's rookie contract is set to expire, and he is coming off a career-high 1,065 rush yards on a dismal New York Jets team that had the 29th-worst offense in the NFL (17.6 PPG). Etienne was solid with 1,107 rush yards and seven TDs, but his yards per carry (4.3) were less than Swift's (4.9), giving the Bears no reason to entertain any potential interest in him.
Similar to Swift and Monangai, Walker split the workload this season with fellow Seattle Seahawks RB Zach Charbonnet, logging 1,027 yards and five TDs, plus an additional 282 receiving yards. When you factor in the struggles that Monangai had to end the season after failing to hit 60 rushing yards and score a TD in the final seven games (including the postseason), it is clear he is not an RB1 at the moment and needs a workhorse around him to split the carries with.
If the Bears could coach Swift into having a career year, who's to say they couldn't do the same for Walker or Hall?
There is also a scenario where the Bears could get similar production for less money if they hit on a cheap free agent or draft pick, which is certainly possible. Between Hall, Etienne, and Walker, Spotrac projects all three with at least $7 million, with Hall topping out above $10 million. In the end, it could be a repeat of events for Swift, who has been ousted from other teams in favor of an upgrade at the position despite his consistent play.
For this Bears team to succeed on the ground, it needs someone to pair with Monangai in the backfield. Swift has proven to be the perfect fit and someone who could return to the same role next season. At the same time, he's far from irreplaceable, and if Chicago can replace him with a cheaper yet equally effective option, a separation might be too enticing to ignore.