The Chicago Bears have given their fans a lot to be excited about in the past few months, and much of that has to do with the offense. It doesn't sound like D'Andre Swift is part of that enthusiasm, for fans or coaches.
Ben Johnson, who directed one of the most potent scoring attacks in the NFL as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, is on board as the team's new head coach. The offensive line has been upgraded more than any other position group in the league. The recently concluded draft yielded even more skill position talent to go with DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet, as Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III and Kyle Monangai were added to the mix.
Bears fans are hoping that last year's offensive problems, when Caleb Williams was under constant pressure and the run game struggled to ever really get going, are a thing of the past. Given how often they've been burned by believing that the Monsters of the Midway could ever evolve beyond the franchise's decades-long "three yards and a cloud of dust" mindset though, they can be forgiven for wanting to see a proof-of-concept on the field before fully drinking the Kool-Aid.
If there's one aspect of the offense that still looks to be a question mark, it's the running back position. Ashton Jeanty, the Boise State stud whom many Bears fans were hopelessly enamored with, was off the board before the Bears were on the clock with the 10th overall pick. This was a deep running back draft, but general manager Ryan Poles opted not to take one until the final round even after the Las Vegas Raiders scooped Jeanty up.
As far as returning players go, D'Andre Swift had a mediocre year in his first season with the Bears, and Roschon Johnson has never really been given a chance to shine since being drafted two years ago. Monangai is a prospect with a lot of good college tape, but he's also a seventh-round rookie, so fans would be wise to keep their expectations in check. Then there's Ian Wheeler and Travis Homer — Wheeler is coming off a torn ACL after impressing in camp last year, and Homer is mostly a special teams player that doesn't get many looks in the backfield.
Many fans still expect the Bears to bring in a fresh set of legs before the season starts, either through free agency (former Browns RB Nick Chubb is a name that has come up a lot lately), or via a trade for someone like Breece Hall or James Conner. By the sound of it though, the coaching staff (mostly) likes what they already have in the building.
Eric Bieniemy is the former offensive coordinator for the Chiefs and Commanders, and an example of someone that's vastly overqualified to be a running backs coach. That's a good thing for the Bears, especially as they break in the youngest coordinator in the league, 28-year-old Declan Doyle. Forget about all that though, because by far the most interesting part of the above tweet is that D'Andre Swift wasn't even mentioned as a reason that the Bears feel good about their running back situation.
By not mentioning D'Andre Swift at all, Ryan Poles said it all
Part of the reason Bears fans were all-in on drafting Jeanty is that Swift just wasn't good at all last year. He ranked near the bottom of the league in terms of success rate, yards after contact and explosive play rate. Bears fans saw it with their own eyes, as for all the issues the Bears had with pass protection, they were fairly competent in terms of run-blocking. Swift left dozens of plays on the table over the course of the year and did little to help an offense that already couldn't get out of its own way.
There's also the history between Swift and Ben Johnson to consider. When Swift was a member of the Lions and Johnson was the offensive coordinator, Detroit traded him away on NFL Draft weekend after selecting Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick. Johnson had only been the OC for one year at that point, and if he really loved Swift, it's doubtful things would have gone down that way.
The stage appears to be set for Swift to make a similar exit from the Bears, whether they acquire another back or not. Appearance is reality, and for Poles to omit the incumbent starting running back's name while bringing up three other guys who have 136 career NFL carries between them speaks volumes.
The Bears would take around a $10 million cap hit to cut Swift, but if Johnson isn't on board with having him be a part of the offense, that's a sacrifice he might be willing to make. If the Bears wait until next offseason, the cost of cutting or trading Swift will be negligible, but the awkwardness of having him riding the bench all year before then may be worse than losing some cap space.
Unless Swift is traded or released sometime soon, Bears fans won't have a grasp on the situation until training camp at the earliest. With the draft over and preseason still more than three months away though, this will be one of the most interesting subplots to follow, especially if Poles or another decision-maker on the Bears says so much by saying nothing at all.