Ben Johnson
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Head coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
When the Chicago Bears signed running back D’Andre Swift to a three-year, $24 million deal in March of 2024, the hope was that he’d give the offense a potential playmaker on every single down.
Swift had just come off the first Pro Bowl season of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he finished with 1,049 rushing yards in 2023. Wth a versatile skill set and a toolbox full of jukes and hurdles, he looked like a perfect fit for a team trying to finally break out of offensive purgatory.
But after just one game into Swift’s second season in Chicago, some analysts are already calling the 26-year-old “washed.” NFL analyst John Frascella posted the following on X, along with a clip of a disappointing run courtesy of the Bears RB against the Minnesota Vikings Week 1:
“This is D’Andre Swift… He is clearly washed and running in slow motion… If you aren’t stashing Roschon Johnson on your Fantasy benches I dunno what you are thinking.”
This is D’Andre Swift…
He is clearly washed and running in slow motion…
If you aren’t stashing Roschon Johnson on your Fantasy benches I dunno what you are thinking pic.twitter.com/62fFLi2l3Q
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) September 11, 2025
A Look Back at Swift’s 1st Season With the Bears
His first year in Chicago, Swift stumbled out of the gate with three straight games averaging under 2.0 yards per carry before finally breaking out a bit against the L.A. Rams in Week 4 with 165 scrimmage yards and a touchdown.
His performance against the Rams was the exact kind of all-purpose production the Bears had envisioned when they signed him. It turned out to be the best overall game of his 2024 campaign.
He finished with 959 rushing yards and nearly 400 receiving yards last year, going over the 100-yard mark as a rusher just once (inn Chicago’s Week 8 loss to the Washington Commanders, when he had 129 yards on the ground).
Is Chicago Bears RB D’Andre Swift ‘Washed’ Already?
D'Andre Swift
GettyIs it fair to call D’Andre Swift of the Chicago Bears washed?
So is it fair to call Swift “washed” at 26? Let’s maybe wait until his second season with the team concludes before making that assumption?
The Bears hired the offensive-minded Ben Johnson this offseason. While he praised Swift and his talent publicly, he has also made it clear the ground game has to be more efficient than it was in 2024. Perhaps with time, Johnson can get more production out of the RB.
Swift averaged 3.8 yards per carry in 2024 after netting a 4.6 mark in Philly, and his explosives were streaky at best. Chicago’s broader offensive issues are part of his statistical dip, for sure — the Bears have nowhere near the talent Philly has on its offensive line — but Swift has to be better this year.
Week 1, in the Bears’ 27–24 loss to Minnesota, Swift logged 17 carries for 53 yards (that’s just 3.1 yards per rush) and 3 catches for 12 yards. While that’s not totallty wretched, quarterback Caleb Williams actually led the team in rushing (58 yards). One game is a wee snapshot, but it looked far too familiar for Bears fans who lived through 2024’s inconsistency.
Moving forward, Johnson says he’s going to mix it up in the running game more, with rookie Kyle Monangai likely getting more involved.
We’re not ready to call Swift washed yet — the RB1 job is still his — but his margin for “meh” is getting smaller by the day.