The Chicago Bears have a running back problem. Rookie Kyle Monangai suffered a hyperextended knee in practice this week, and the initial timeline is multiple weeks, putting his Week 1 status in serious doubt.
Monangai was expected to be a key rotational piece in the Bears backfield. He was drafted in the middle rounds out of Rutgers after a huge senior season and impressed in training camp. Chicago liked him enough that he was ahead of some other backs on the depth chart. Now the timeline is unclear.
Hyperextensions can be minor or serious depending on the ligament involvement. The Bears have not released a specific diagnosis yet, but the reporting from the team beat is that Monangai will miss “multiple weeks.” That likely means at least the season opener against a division rival and probably a couple more games after that.
D’Andre Swift is the presumed starter. Swift signed with Chicago last year and had a solid season, but he has never been a workhorse back for a full 17 games. Roschon Johnson gives them a physical short-yardage option. Tyson Bagent is on the practice squad. Depth beyond that is limited.
The Bears might have to look at the waiver wire. There are going to be running backs cut this week as teams finalize their 53-man rosters, and Chicago has an obvious need. The front office should be working the phones today.
The bigger picture for Chicago is that this is a critical season for the franchise. The Caleb Williams era is entering year three, and the pressure to show real progress is mounting. A running game that supports the passing attack is essential. Any injury that thins the backfield is a problem.
Ben Johnson’s offensive scheme in Chicago relies on multiple backs to keep defenses honest. When it works, you see mismatches and busted coverages. When one of your key pieces goes down, the whole thing gets harder to run. Johnson is going to have to be creative in the early weeks of the season.
The Bears open at Minnesota on Monday Night Football. That is a bad situation for a backfield that is suddenly short-handed. The Vikings’ defense will absolutely stack the box and dare Williams to beat them through the air.
Monangai’s absence is not just about Week 1 either. Running back rotations get built over time. Getting a rookie into the rhythm of NFL football takes weeks of regular touches. If he misses the first month, he is essentially starting his career over in October.
Fantasy football players who drafted Monangai as a late-round flier are going to be disappointed. The value of his uncertain timeline is basically zero for the first month. Swift’s value goes up, but he also brings his own injury history to the equation.
Bears fans should hope that the timeline is on the shorter end. Two weeks of rest and rehab and Monangai could be back for the Week 3 game. Four weeks and he is missing the first month plus. The team’s early-season outlook depends a lot on which end of the range this ends up being.
Ryan Poles is going to be busy this week. Between the waiver wire, potential trades, and roster construction, the Bears front office has real work to do. Monangai’s injury is a bad break for a team that has enough uncertainty to deal with already.
The 2026 season officially starts on September 11. Chicago plays Minnesota on the following Monday. The Bears backfield will look different than they planned.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
