Bears Could Cut Ties With $24 Million Pro Bowler After Rookie’s Breakout Game
The Chicago Bears were one of the worst rushing offenses in the league over the first month of the season, but that has changed in more than one meaningful way over the last four games.
Starter D’Andre Swift put together back-to-back 100-plus-yard efforts in Week 6 and 7 against the Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints, respectively. He slowed down in Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens and missed the team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, November 2, due to a groin injury.
Seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai stepped in for Swift and blew up the Bengals defense, posting 6.8 rushing yards per attempt with 176 total yards on the ground across 26 carries. He also made three catches for 22 receiving yards.
Monangai earned a game ball following the Bears’ 47-42 road victory and offered a short speech, during which he spoke of his intentions to remain the starter.
“Hey, I appreciate everybody in this room, man,” Monangai said. “It was my first start. Nobody knew what I was gonna do, but I told ya’ll I was gonna step up to the plate. Whatever I gotta do to get the next one.”
Swift’s return timetable remains unclear, so Monangai might have gotten the start in Week 10 against the New York Giants anyway. However, he clearly did enough against the Bengals to show that he deserves more work game to game, and Chicago must now seriously consider him as a possibility to start down the stretch of 2025 and into the future.
Kyle Monangai Offers Bears More Long-Term Value Than D’Andre Swift
It is easy to get carried away when a player puts up an afternoon like Monangai did on Sunday, and it is more than worth noting that Cincinnati fields literally the worst defense in the NFL, affording opponents 166.4 rushing yards (32nd), 426.6 total yards (32nd) and 33.3 points per game (32nd), according to ESPN statistics.
But Monangai has played well as RB2 in previous outings this season as well, rushing for 81 yards and a score on 13 carries against the Saints two weeks ago. His per carry average this year is impressive at 5.3 yards.
Then there is the value question to consider. As the 233rd overall pick in the draft, Monangai is in the first season of a four-year rookie deal that pays him only $4.3 million over the life of the contract. Meanwhile, Swift is in the second season of a three-year agreement worth $24 million total.
D’Andre Swift Strong Cut Candidate for Bears Next Offseason
The value question isn’t one Chicago needs to consider for the remainder of this season, but next March it becomes a major conversation.
The Bears have a built-in out on Swift’s contract next offseason, which costs the team a dead cap hit of just $1.33 million. That would equate to a cap savings of $7.5 million if Chicago moves on from the running back.
Head coach Ben Johnson built a two-headed monster in the offensive backfield while running the Detroit Lions offense as coordinator over the last three years, pairing Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. In doing so, he helped facilitate a trade of Swift out of Detroit to the Philadelphia Eagles.
And while Swift earned Pro Bowl honors during his one season in Philly in 2023, his production dipped during his first year in Chicago before he got off to a rough start this season. Now injured, Swift has produced only two big games for the Bears in 2025.
Thus, the franchise has legitimate reason to feature Monangai more and see what it has in the rookie, who this version of Chicago leadership studied and drafted. If the Bears can part ways with Swift next offseason, replace him with a quality producer more suited to Johnson’s offensive style and utilize the extra $7.5 million (minus what the new RB gets paid) elsewhere, that is a considerable win for the organization.
Doing so, however, requires the Bears to give Monangai plenty of run so they can evaluate him — an opportunity he earned on Sunday by producing the best outing of any Chicago running back all season by a good amount.
Joe Flacco Faces Quiet Alarm Before Lions Game as Aidan Hutchinson Makes Bold Statement
The Detroit Lions are coming into Week 4 with new desperation on defense, and edge defender
The extent of Hutchinson’s influence goes well past mere statistics. Speaking to the media on September 24, he provided his insight into the quarterback situation of the Cleveland Browns. When asked about
Flacco’s performance thus far this season warrants Hutchinson’s judgment. In three games, the veteran QB has experienced it all – success and failure. Week 1 against Cincinnati, Flacco passed for 290 yards with one TD and two picks, showing flashes of greatness but also flashes of errant play.
Week 2 suffered a tough loss to the Ravens by 41-17, with Flacco passing 25 for 45 for 199 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and two sacks. Flacco and the Browns last week barely managed a win against Green Bay by 13-10, passing 21 for 36 for 142 yards, but also with one interception and two sacks.
The Lions’ superstar also highlighted his own mindset going into the game. “It’s going to be fun. We have a good opportunity against him, and we got to show out and give him our best,”
What he’s stating is more than bravado — it is substantiated by performance. Hutchinson had his first sack of the 2025 season in Week 2 against Chicago, sacking quarterback Caleb Williams, and he also assisted on a crucial forced turnover which resulted in an interception by safety Kerby Joseph.
However, Hutchinson didn’t have it easy. In 2024, he dislocated his leg in Week 6, forcing him out just after five games. His absence placed the Lions in a shaky spot, leaving gaps that the opponent exploited and ultimately forcing the Lions to make adjustments without their emerging star rusher.
Healthy and playing at full capacity now, Hutchinson is both a stabilizing presence and a refreshed threat for offenses opposing Detroit. And it’s this defense that the Browns will be wary about heading into their next matchup.
Aidan Hutchinson’s Lions defense vs Browns
The Cleveland Browns (1-2) will visit Ford Field on Sunday to face the Detroit Lions (2-1) in a crucial Week 4 matchup. The Browns entered as the NFL’s best at stopping the run, holding opponents to an average of only 57.3 rushing yards per game, but Cleveland cannot underestimate the multi-dimensional Detroit offense.
Along with the offense, the Browns will have to be really careful about Detroit’s defense as well, as pointed out by Browns’ HC Kevin Stefanski: “They’ve got good blockers upfront and on the perimeter with their receivers. Their receivers are always freeing up guys with extra blocks down the field, which is really impressive.”
Stefanski also commented on the extra dimension that Detroit brings with running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The pair makes the Lions able to employ nearly any running scheme out there, from inside zone to outside stretch, making the team very hard to prepare for each week.
Hutchinson’s skills as a pass rusher will be tested as well, since the Browns’ offensive line is one of the more veteran groups in the NFL. But Detroit’s front seven, led by Hutchinson, will look to continually harass Flacco.
The Lions would like to use their defensive foundation’s skillset to attack the Browns’ strengths and build up some momentum, and Cleveland would like to counter with accuracy in the pass and run game. The battle will be one of tactics, Hutchinson’s statement having sent the signal out there for a contest where each snap might determine the winner.
