Bears Make Roster Move Following D’Andre Swift Injury Update 🚨
D'Andre Swift and the Chicago Bears fell to 4-3 after a 30-16 Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Swift had a solid game, though, rushing for 45 yards and one touchdown while pulling in two receptions for 26 yards.
The Bears have an opportunity to bounce back, though, going up against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9. The Bengals' defense has struggled to stop the run all season, ranking 32nd in rushing yards per game allowed ( 151.9).
With 464 rushing yards and four touchdowns under his belt this season, Swift had an opportunity for a big game against Cincinnati, potentially exploiting a big weakness.
However, on Friday, the Bears ruled Swift out with a groin injury. He was listed as a non-participant in all three practices, and this will be his first missed game of the year.
Due to Swift not playing, the Bears announced on Saturday they elevated running back Brittain Brown from the practice squad.
"The #Bears have elevated RB Brittain Brown from the Practice Squad for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals," the team wrote via an X post.
Brown, a 2022 seventh-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders, has not appeared in a regular-season game since his rookie season.
However, he appeared in two preseason games for the Bears. He rushed the ball 29 times for 100 yards and one touchdown. Brown also hauled in two receptions for seven yards.
With Roschon Johnson also ruled out with a back injury, Kyle Monangai, Travis Homer and Brown are the three running backs set to suit up against the Bengals.
Much of the rushing duties will likely fall on Monangai, who has the second-most carries (42) and rushing yards (186) on the teams this season.
Kickoff is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Paycor Stadium, airing on CBS.
CJ Stroud’s Standing as Top 10 Quarterback Solidified in Mike Sando’s QB Tiers
Each offseason, veteran NFL reporter Mike Sando compiles his annual quarterback tiers — a survey of 50 executives, scouts and coaches around the NFL that provides fans an accurate picture of how signal-callers around the league are viewed by the people whose opinions are the most well-informed. Each of the last two years, the placement of Houston Texans star CJ Stroud has been a notable topic of conversation.v
In the 2025 edition of the poll, Stroud’s ranking predictably took a hit. After receiving 12 ‘Tier 1’ votes in 2024 — ‘Tier 1’ is the highest ranking a player could receive, representative of a quarterback who “has no holes in his game” and “can carry his team each week” — Stroud only got one in 2025. Accordingly, his ‘Tier 2’ and ‘Tier 3’ votes both increased as well.
But even still, Stroud finished tied for 9th in the survey, deadlocked with reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, and just ahead of fellow Tier 2 quarterbacks Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love and Brock Purdy. And even though Stroud’s ranking dropped, some of the evaluations Sando’s annual poll make it clear that despite a sophomore season viewed by most as a letdown, the Texans QB is still held in high regard around the NFL.
What Are Coaches and Execs Saying About CJ Stroud?
Stroud suffered the fifth-largest year-over-year fall in average vote in the 2025 poll, but he’s still solidly a Tier 2 quarterback, which Sando describes as “a quarterback that can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently. He can handle pure-passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game.”
This is a fairly accurate depiction of where Stroud is at as he enters his third NFL season. And it’s reflected in some of the feedback Sando received on the 23-year-old quarterback.
“He can carry the team,” one rival defensive coordinator said of Stroud. “He is special in my eyes because he can throw from the pocket, he can throw off-schedule, he has been really good with the game on the line.”
Other coaches made it clear that Stroud’s struggles in 2024 were more representative of his situation in Houston than anything else.
“Everybody wants to downgrade C.J.,” another defensive coordinator said. “His No. 1 receiver was out, the line did not play great, the run game wasn’t there like it should have been.”
“I read an article, they said it’s time for him to take the next step,” an offensive coach added. “What is the next step? It’s time for his team to take the next step. He’s pretty damn productive.”
Even in a down season, Stroud did produce at a fairly high level in 2024. He threw for over 3,700 yards and 20 touchdowns, all while his offensive line was regularly collapsing in front of him. He led the Texans to a 10-7 record, good enough for their second straight AFC South title, and advanced to the Divisional Round of the Playoffs once again.
Fortunately for Stroud, the Texans spent the offseason looking to make sure the same issues that plagued their quarterback during the 2024 season wouldn’t pop up once again in 2025. The offensive line features multiple new faces. Two draft picks were spent on wide receivers, adding depth to a room that has been depleted by injuries each of the last two seasons. Nick Caley replaces Bobby Slowik as offensive coordinator.
There’s no telling if this will be enough to return Stroud to a place where he’s once again flirting with being seen as a ‘Tier 1’ quarterback. But it’s hard to imagine the situation getting much worse than it was last year.
