Running back D’Andre Swift and the Chicago Bears agree to a 3-year, $33.75 million extension
Of all the narratives surrounding the Chicago Bears the last two years, none was further from the truth than the notion D’Andre Swift wouldn’t be a fit for Ben Johnson’s offense.
That was bandied about after Johnson was hired in January 2025. Then the team’s depth at running back — with Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai — was a question all the way up until the regular season began.
The theory was that the Detroit Lions, who drafted Swift in the second round in 2020, had traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 shortly after drafting Jahmyr Gibbs. Johnson, of course, was the Lions offensive coordinator at the time. So if the Lions didn’t want Swift after Gibbs was on board, neither did Johnson.
Wrong.
Johnson professed a high level of belief in Swift all last year, and the running back made his coach look wise. Now it’s a pairing that will continue into the future as the Bears have agreed to terms with Swift on a three-year, $33.75 million contract extension with $27.5 million guaranteed.
It’s the second extension for the Bears since training camp opened. On Aug. 4 they gave right tackle Darnell Wright a $116 million deal over four new years.
The timing — just ahead of Sunday’s season opener at Carolina — makes sense as Swift, 27, was otherwise set to enter a contract year, one season after he led the league’s third-ranked rushing offense with a career-high 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Here’s what I know: I know D’Andre Swift, he’s right where we need him to be right now,” Johnson said Aug. 11 after the team’s most physical practice of camp, in which Swift broke off a long run during a short-yardage period. “I was very pleased with what he looked like, how he approached the day.”
General manager Ryan Poles signed Swift to a three-year, $24 million contract in 2024 after his one season with the Eagles. He was set to earn $7.5 million this season with a $6.39 million base salary. Depending on how the contract is structured, it’s possible the extension will lower his salary-cap figure, which was to be $8.8 million.
After running for 959 yards and averaging only 3.8 yards per carry in 2024, Swift got behind a better offensive line last season and his yards per attempt climbed to 4.9.
“Statwise, I guess,” Swift said earlier in training camp when asked if it was his best season. “But me personally, there’s a lot more out there for me and I know that.”
Swift is focused on getting off to a faster start this season. He didn’t top 63 yards in a game last year until Week 5, when he ran for 108 yards in a 25-24 road victory against the Washington Commanders.
“Going into the second year with Ben, knowing what I’m getting asked to do, being very critical of the details that I need to be on,” Swift said. “I’m excited for this second year going into it.
“The only thing I was missing last year that I need to do a better job of is I need more explosive runs, longer runs. I need to showcase that. I didn’t have a lot of those last year. We can go out there and improve that.”
Poles said last week that the Bears would consider a new deal for Swift.
“He’s done a great job,” Poles said. “I love his approach this offseason. He looks amazing. Second year in the system too. The combination of having EB (2025 running backs coach Eric Bieniemy) and (new running backs coach Eric) Studesville has been awesome for him.
“I like where he’s at right now. This is where this job gets tough, trying to figure out how you want to allocate everything, not only for now but into the future. I love Swiftie. I love the way that he’s working.”
The extension is delicate in the sense that this is the third NFL contract for Swift, and everyone wonders about the shelf life for running backs. But the Bears proved they could do a nice job of balancing him with Monangai last season, and Swift has been durable lately, missing only two games over the previous three seasons after missing 10 during his three years in Detroit.
The market for the position has gotten a considerable bump in the last year, and it’s good business to reward your players because of the message it sends to the locker room.
The $8 million annual average in Swift’s original contract with the Bears was tied for 19th among running backs leaguewide. Seven players ahead of Swift got new deals this offseason. Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and Jonathan Taylor signed contracts worth at least $22 million per season in a 48-hour span in August. De’Von Achane, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III and Travis Etienne cashed in back in the spring.
Gibbs tops the list for running back pay at $22.5 million annually, closely followed by Robinson and Taylor. Saquon Barkley is at $20.6 million and Christian McCaffrey at $19 million. Seven running backs are between $12 million and $16 million.
Had the Bears opted to have Swift, who turns 28 in January, play out the season, it would have been tougher to re-sign him because the 2027 class of free-agent running backs is expected to be particularly weak. From that standpoint, Swift and the team both bought a measure of security by doing a deal now.
Extending Swift also ensures the Bears won’t have to make running back — a critical position in Johnson’s offense — a priority in the draft. Even if it’s a strong draft class for running backs, the Bears need to commit draft capital to some young building blocks on defense, and this deal locks up a major offensive piece.