LAKE FOREST, Ill. — D’Andre Swift has been dealing with a groin injury for weeks now. The veteran running back has played through it to this point, though it has severely impacted his practice schedule. Never more so than this week, heading into Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
Swift didn’t practice at all, an activity downturn over previous preparation periods. That put his availability in doubt. So, it was no shock that he was ruled out vs. Cincinnati Friday on the official Bears injury report.
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Earlier in the day, head coach Ben Johnson said Swift is doing his best to manage the situation while still being impactful on game day, but the Bears decided to rest him in this instance.
“It’s a week-to-week deal with where he’s at,” Johnson said before the injury report was released. “But he understands, he’s a tough guy. I mean, he wants to be out there competing and playing for his teammates. He wants to win games, help his team win games. A little bit for us is we got to protect him from himself too. We talked early in training camp that at some point this season, you’re not going to be feeling good. You got to be able to play at a high level, despite being 80, 85% of how you normally feel, and he’s at that spot right now. So I think he’s gonna pay dividends for us down the stretch here.”
The Bears hope the down time can get him ready for the home stretch. It was clear the injury slowed him some versus Baltimore and sapped some of his burst.
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Rookie Kyle Monangai will be the primary running back on Sunday, and it’s fair to expect Brittain Brown will be a practice squad elevation.
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Receiver Luther Burden III won’t be able to help the Bears this week. He was ruled out while in the concussion protocol. Otherwise, the receiver situation is far better than it looked on Wednesday. The top four wideouts were all missing, but Rome Odunze, DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus will be able to play. They did not receive a game designation.
The Bears are expected to get tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson back after they missed last week’s game.
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Running back Roschon Johnson and defensive end Dominique Robinson were also ruled out. Here’s the full Bears injury report:
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