Bears Announce Tough Kyle Monangai Decision Before Sunday Night Bucs Game

Kyle Monangai #25 of the Chicago Bears runs the ball

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The Chicago Bears deliver tough Kyle Monangai news ahead of Sunday night's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Get the latest on the running back's status.

Kyle Monangai is officially inactive for the Chicago Bears‘ Sunday Night Football showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, extending his absence to five games.

He got back on the practice field Friday after more than a month away, but the Bears’ ground game has sputtered without him — and the NFL’s top-ranked run defense awaits at Soldier Field.

Monangai’s injury came in the Oct. 4 win over the New York Jets, where he piled up a career-high 30 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns. The turf toe turned out to be “a bigger deal than we initially anticipated,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said, as quoted by the Chicago Tribune. A thumb problem and a stretch in a walking boot only added to the delay.

Monangai practiced on a limited basis Friday and carried a questionable designation into the weekend. Johnson wants him back as soon as possible, though he has cautioned that toe injuries can be troublesome. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday morning that Monangai would sit out but is expected back after the Week 10 bye, with the New Orleans Saints on the schedule in Week 11.

The Bears’ other inactives are quarterback Case Keenum, cornerback Malik Muhammad, defensive lineman Jayden Loving and linebacker Keyshaun Elliott. Tampa Bay will play without outside linebacker Yaya Diaby.

CHICAGO BEARS — INACTIVES
Week 9 • Buccaneers vs. Bears
Player	Pos	Note
Case Keenum	QB	Emergency 3rd QB
Malik Muhammad	DB	—
Kyle Monangai	RB	—
Keyshaun Elliott	LB	—
Jayden Loving	DL	—
Bears inactive list for Week 9 vs. Tampa Bay.

Kyle Monangai’s Career With the Chicago Bears

Monangai, 24, is a 5-foot-8, 207-pound back from Roseland, New Jersey, who attended Don Bosco Prep before landing at Rutgers. He ran for 3,222 yards and 27 touchdowns there on 669 carries. That total included 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023, making him the first Rutgers back to top 1,000 yards since 2012, and 1,279 yards and 13 scores in 2024, a season that earned him first-team All-Big Ten honors.

The Bears made him the 233rd overall pick in the 2025 draft, a seventh-rounder. He ran a 4.60 40-yard dash at the combine, but built his résumé on contact balance and reliability. That earned Chicago 783 yards and five touchdowns on 169 carries as a rookie, then opened 2026 with 324 yards and three scores on 60 carries — 5.4 yards a pop — before the Jets game ended his run. His career line stands at 1,107 yards and eight touchdowns on 229 carries, with 23 receptions for 203 yards and zero fumbles.

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Chicago Bears Ground Game Meets Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Defense

With Monangai in the lineup for Weeks 1 through 4, Chicago averaged roughly 196 rushing yards per game. Over the four games he has missed, that figure fell to about 105, and the team’s efficiency numbers slid with it. His bruising, after-contact style had paired well with D’Andre Swift’s speed.

Swift now leads the backfield against Tampa Bay, with Roschon Johnson behind him and Salvon Ahmed elevated as the third back. Zavier Scott is on injured reserve. The Bears still managed 126 rushing yards against Seattle in their latest game without Monangai.

The Buccaneers present a tough nut to crack. They allow 80.0 rushing yards per game, first in the NFL, on 640 yards across 179 attempts — a 3.6-yard average. The Bucs also rank near the top of the league in expected points added per rush allowed and in success rate allowed. Defensive tackle Vita Vea anchors the interior, and the unit as a whole is allowing 18.9 points per game, a top-five mark.