The Chicago Bears are gearing up for an exciting 2025 NFL season, which features some new faces within the organization poised to get the franchise back to its winning ways. That starts with the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach, as well as overhauling the interior offensive line, adding pieces on defense and a potenital impactful rookie draft class.
Every day from now right up through training camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2025 season. We’ll recap their 2024 season, look ahead to 2025 and tackle the biggest question facing them this year.
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Next up at No. 15 is running back D’Andre Swift, who needs to prove worthy of the massive contract the Bears gave him last offseason and will be key to the success of Chicago’s run game.
Background
Position: Running back
Age: 26
Experience: 6th season
2025 cap hit: $9.33 million
2024 recap
The Bears had several free-agent options at running back last offseason, and they opted to go with D’Andre Swift, whose first season in Chicago was up-and-down. It was a disastrous start for Swift, who had just 31 rushing yards through three weeks. But he did follow that up with 388 rushing yards and four touchdowns the ensuing four weeks. Swift fell just short of 1,000 rushing yards, and he had just one game where he rushed for 100-plus yards (where he had 129 rushing yards in a Week 8 loss to the Washington Commanders). Overall, Swift was inconsistent as a rusher, due in part to his own struggles and a weak offensive line. He did show he can be a dynamic weapon out of the backfield, and he did have several long runs of 36, 39, and 59 yards. While Swift did start every game for the Bears, it was an overall inconsistent year that left a lot to be desired.
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2025 outlook
Swift enters the 2025 season entrenched as the lead back in a room including Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai. The former Detroit Lion is also reunited with his former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who has an understanding of how to utilize Swift. Following a disappointing first season in Chicago, Swift is looking to bounce back — and he’ll get to do so behind a revamped offensive line that includes newcomers Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson. When looking at Johnson’s offense, the run game is a vital component, and Swift has the potential to play a key role. With Johnson, new running backs coach Eric Bieniemy and an improved offensive line, Swift could be poised for a bounce-back season.
Most Important Bears of 2025: D’Andre Swift
Big question: Does Swift have a future in Chicago?
There’s a ton of pressure on Swift to perform in 2025 following an underwhelming first year in Chicago. There were plenty of reports that the Bears were looking to draft a running back — be it Ashton Jeanty or TreVeyon Henderson — indicating Ben Johnson is looking for a home run hitter in the run game. While Chicago drafted Kyle Monangai in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft, he’s not an immediate threat to Swift — but that doesn’t mean he won’t become one. Swift needs to prove worthy of the three-year, $24 million deal that the Bears signed him to last offseason. If he doesn’t have a bounce-back year — especially reunited with Johnson — then he could very be a salary cap casualty as it would only cost Chicago $1.33 million in dead money.
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30 Most Important Bears of 2025
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Most Important Bears of 2025: D’Andre Swift (No. 15)