The only thing that appears capable of stopping the Chicago Bears‘ run game through four weeks of this NFL season are injuries, some of which have surfaced ahead of the team’s Week 5 showdown with the Green Bay Packers.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune broke down the Bears’ initial injury report on Wednesday, October 7, four days ahead of their trip to Lambeau Field in an effort to move to 4-1 on the year.
“60% of the #Bears O-line did not practice: LG Joe Thuney (pec), RG Jonah Jackson (ankle), RT Darnell Wright (ankle). 67% of backfield did not practice: RB D’Andre Swift (hip/knee), RB Kyle Monangai (thumb/toe),” Biggs wrote on X. “Could be after effects of 89 snaps. Thursday report will tell more.”
Bears Downplay Kyle Monangai’s Thumb Injury Prior to Packers Game
Head coach Ben Johnson downplayed Monangai’s thumb issue after the second-year running back assumed the most significant workload of his career to date against the New York Jets last Sunday.
“Ben Johnson said Kyle Monangai’s thumb is ‘not an issue,’ but that his body is feeling the effects of his workload against the Jets,” Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported via X on Wednesday before quoting Johnson directly.
“He had 30 carries, and he feels like he had 30 carries,” Johnson said.
There is little reason not to take Johnson at his word, at least for now. But as Biggs noted, if Monangai doesn’t practice or is limited on Thursday, some eyebrows around the league are bound to raise.
Ben Johnson Called Out D’Andre Swift Over Fumbling Issues
Swift’s injury issues have been a bit more nagging over the course of the year, though he has managed them well and produced admirably.
However, Johnson also noted on Wednesday performance concerns involving Swift, specifically his recent propensity for fumbling the football.
“Ben Johnson said D’Andre Swift’s 2 fumbles since Week 2 [are] ‘very uncharacteristic,'” Cronin wrote in a second post. “The one punched out by Minnesota at the goal line is one thing. ‘That’s what they do — they do it probably better than anybody in the NFL, just conscious of the ball and looking to punch it out.’ But the one against the Jets where the ball slipped out from Swift’s left arm is what Johnson characterized as ‘egregious.'”
“It’s one that we can’t have. There’s too many times when the ball’s getting away from our body and he knows that,” Johnson said. “He takes a lot of pride in it — hence why it’s never been an issue over the course of his career. We just gotta tighten that up, and he’ll be just fine moving forward.”
Johnson inserted Monangai as the primary ball-carrier following Swift’s fumble against the Jets in the third quarter of last week’s game, and Chicago still rushed the football 54 times for 232 yards and two scores.
The Bears extended Swift prior to the beginning of the season on a three-year deal worth nearly $34 million that runs through the 2029 campaign.
Bears Suddenly Face Concerning Questions on RBs Swift, Monangai Before Packers Game