The Chicago Bears have received some good news about veteran running back D’Andre Swift just hours before their rematch with the Green Bay Packers.
Swift landed on the injury report with a groin injury after making it through December 16’s initial walkthrough for the Packers without an injury designation. The Bears kept him limited in both of their practices and ruled him questionable on the injury report.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, though, Swift is expected to play through his groin injury against the Packers in Week 16, despite his questionable status for the matchup.
With 935 yards, Swift is closing in on his second career 1,000-yard season.
Swift has been on a career-high pace as a rusher for the Bears in 2025, sitting at 935 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns through the first 15 weeks of the season. He has also caught 29 passes for 254 yards and another touchdown, making him one of the most valuable playmakers for Chicago’s offense under head coach Ben Johnson.
While the Bears could potentially seek to limit Swift against the Packers, it bodes well for the veteran’s snap count that the team did not make any roster elevations at the running back position before their kickoff against the Packers in the prime-time slot.
The Bears (10-4) will kick off against the Packers (9-4-1) at 8:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 20.
Bears May Give D’Andre Swift Smaller Share vs. Packers
Swift will expectedly play against the Packers in a matchup that could have significant implications for both teams’ 2025 NFL Playoff bids, but he might wind up taking the smaller share of the carries between him and rookie Kyle Monangai on Saturday night.
The Bears have tried to strike a near-even balance between Swift and Monangai as the season has gone along and Monangai has continued to prove himself. The latter has been a main part of the offense since Week 9’s breakout game against the Cincinnati Bengals, when he filled in for Swift as the team’s lead back and rushed for 176 yards.
While the two-headed-beast strategy has worked well enough for the Bears to climb into the No. 2 slot for league rushing offenses (151.9 yards per game), Chicago might want to flip the roles against Green Bay and give Monangai the larger share of the carries to avoid overworking Swift or making his current groin injury any worse than it is.
After all, Swift has struggled with groin issues throughout the season. It is the reason why he did not play in Week 9, his only inactive game since joining the Bears in 2024.
The Bears must decide just how important preserving Swift is to them.
Bears Are Still Down 2 Top Playmakers vs. Packers
The Bears caught a break with Swift’s groin, but they will still try to claim their revenge over the Packers without two of their top offensive playmakers as a result of injuries.
The Bears officially ruled out wide receivers Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden III (ankle) in their final injury report after both players missed the entire week of practice. Odunze will now miss his second straight game, while Burden will miss his second of the season after missing his first game in Week 9 while dealing with a concussion.
While Odunze (661) and Burden (479) have the first- and fourth-most receiving yards on the team, respectively, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will still have plenty of viable receiving targets against the Packers, including veterans DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus and tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet — who is questionable.
The Bears also elevated wide receiver Maurice Alexander from the practice squad to the game-day roster against the Packers, giving them additional depth alongside undrafted rookie and active-roster member Jahdae Walker.
Bears Get Good News on D’Andre Swift Hours Before Packers Kickoff