Chicago is going to be careful with Kyle Monangai. The rookie running back hyperextended his knee during practice this week and is expected to miss multiple weeks, putting his Week 1 status in doubt.
Hyperextensions do not sound as scary as ACL tears, but they can linger. Ligament sprains hate NFL cutting motions, and a running back who is even five percent slower off the line is a running back who does not get carries. That is the concern for Chicago’s coaching staff.
Monangai was expected to be part of a committee backfield. The Bears have D’Andre Swift as the primary back, but Swift has never been a full workload guy, and Monangai’s role was going to be third down and change of pace. Losing that role for the opener is not catastrophic, but it forces Chicago to lean harder on Swift or reach into the practice squad for depth.
Here is the read on Ben Johnson’s offense. It is designed to spread carries. Johnson comes from the Lions where David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs both got real snaps in the same game. That works when both are healthy. When one goes down, defenses start ignoring the two back looks.
Rookie running backs get overhyped every August. That is why the honest read matters. Monangai was never going to lead this team in carries. He was going to matter in September and October when the Bears figured out what they had. Missing training camp reps is more of a long term problem than missing Week 1.
The Bears open at home in Week 1. They can absolutely win that game without Monangai. But if the injury lingers into October and Swift picks up any nick of his own, this becomes a real problem for a team that thinks it can compete in the NFC North.
Chicago fans should not push the panic button, but they should keep a finger near it. Hyperextended knees have a way of showing up on injury reports for six straight weeks. Monangai is going to be an every Wednesday name to watch for a while.
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.
