The Chicago Bears are the best running team in the NFL by a significant margin through four weeks, and it doesn’t seem to matter who is getting the bulk of the carries, which is good news for running back Zavier Scott.
Scott is likely to see his first regular-season action as a member of the Bears against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5 with Kyle Monangai out due to a turf toe injury.
“Kyler Gordon will not return tomorrow. Neither will Shemar Turner,” Adam Hoge of CHGO Bears reported via X on Saturday, October 10. “LB Noah Sewell is being activated off PUP, though. He’s back. And RB Zavier Scott is elevated from practice squad for the game to help fill in for Kyle Monangai. #Bears.”
Kyle Monangai’s Turf Toe Injury Creates Opportunity for Zavier Scott Against Packers
Monangai is the backup RB in Chicago, but took over the top role in the second half of Week 4 against the New York Jets after D’Andre Swift coughed up a costly fumble.
All Monangai did with the opportunity was log 30 carries for 146 rushing yards and two scores. Head coach Ben Johnson said following the game that Swift had not lost his starting job to Monangai, and Monangai’s injury renders the workload split between the team’s top two RBs a non-story — at least in Week 5.
Scott, 27, steps onto the active roster heading into Lambeau Field with just 32 carries for 114 yards on his resumé. However, he has an explosive running style and big-play potential, which could equal a monster day against a Packers’ defense that is ranked 28th against the run through four weeks of the season, giving up an average of 139.3 yards per game.
Meanwhile, the Bears’ offense is putting up 196.3 yards per contest on almost 40 carries per outing. Roschon Johnson is technically the RB2 heading into Green Bay on Sunday, but he tallied just two carries in 2025 and has only four carries through four games this season.
So whether Johnson gets work against the Packers or not, it is likely that Scott gets the best shot of his career to make an impact.
Zavier Scott Chose Bears After Vikings Cut Him Over Summer
Scott, who spent the last two years with the Minnesota Vikings, joined the Bears this offseason after the Vikings handed him his walking papers as part of the initial 53-man roster cutdown at the end of August.
Minnesota wanted Scott back on the practice squad, and could certainly use him now with Jordan Mason out and Aaron Jones Sr. carrying a load over the last three weeks that is far too heavy for his 32-year-old shoulders (23 touches per game).
However, Scott saw the writing on the wall after the Vikings drafted rookie running back Demond Claiborne in the sixth round back in April and opted for Chicago and a better chance to develop himself as the longterm RB3 under Ben Johnson’s run-centric approach.
Bears’ Explosive Playmaker Poised for Career Day Against Packers