1. Bears paying D'Andre Swift big money
In theory, with Kahlil Herbert and Roschon Johnson already in place and his history in mind, the Bears signed Swift to be part of a backfield committee. But a three-year, $24 million deal, with a pretty hefty $15.28 million guaranteed ($14 million fully guaranteed at signing), says they have plans to make Swift their lead back.
The Lions know first-hand how planning to make Swift your workhorse running back goes. It's not that his injuries were related to him not doing what he needed to keep himself in good condition, like persistent soft tissue injuries as a good example. But he simply could not avoid getting banged up over his three years in Detroit. At the 2023 NFL Combine, head coach Dan Campbell made it clear the team was out of answers for how to keep Swift on the field.
"We tried to do that last year. We tried to take care of him in camp"….Campbell said. "We thought we had a recipe going into the year, and it didn’t work out,…We’re going to start all over from scratch again. Let’s find another way to see if we can help him stay on the field, you know?..."
Campbell's words served as the first sign an offseason trade could be coming, which of course it did on Day 3 of last year's draft to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles also found out how Swift can't hold up to a big workload, with a notable efficiency drop for two-plus months after an early-season two week surge.
Coming off the best year of his career, and especially as a running back, good for Swift to get paid like he did. But the Bears either plan to use him as their clear No.1 back, which sets them up to be disappointed, or they will have him in some level of a three-man committee (immediately, or forced to eventually).
Either way Chicago paid for Swift's 2023 production, in a contract year behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, while ignoring the three years of inconsistency and persistently being banged up that preceded it. Which they also saw up-close, assuming Swift ever played both games against them in a season with the Lions.