The Chicago Bears are one of the most intriguing teams heading into the 2025 NFL regular season.
As the NFL's 32 clubs wrap up their first week of the pre-season, rosters are becoming clearer and clearer as the clock ticks to just 15 days until every team needs to be at (or under) the 53-player threshold.
When it comes to the Bears, many of the club's starters are spoken for, especially on the offensive side of the ball. However, some young players may find themselves with a bigger workload than previously expected...including one of team's late-round draft picks in the form of Rutgers tailback, Kyle Monangai.
Kyle Monangai Could Push for Backup RB Role
During the Bears' pre-season opener, which ended in a 24-24 tie against the Miami Dolphins, Monangai led all rushers in yards per carry (5.0) after rushing for a team-high 30 yards on just six carries.
As D'Andre Swift projects as the team's starter heading into the regular season, top backup option Roschon Johnson missed Sunday's preseason opener due to a foot injury. While it was expected that the injury wasn't too serious, eyebrows rose around Bears camp when the club signed former Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders tailback, Brittain Brown.
While Monangai finds himself in a competition for the backup role, the rookie's skillset is vastly different than Swift's, which could help the former Rutgers star's case for a role regardless of how the remainder of the pre-season shakes out, with the 5-foot-8. 207-pound powerhouse back could be the leader in the clubhouse for goal-line carries.
Before being selected by the Bears in the seventh-round of this past April's draft, Monangai was a workhorse for Rutgers. During his final two seasons with the Scarlet Knights, Monangai totted the ball 498 times for 2,541 yards, and 21 touchdowns in 25 games.
Other than Swift, Johnson, and Monangai, there's not much competition for the rookie to make the Bears' roster, as the club's only other rostered backs are Travis Homer, Ian Wheeler, and the aforementioned recently signed Brown.