Free Agent RBs The Chicago Bears Should Consider Signing
With mandatory minicamp coming to a close, the one position of need on this Chicago Bears roster that has seemingly been neglected is running back.
Despite an incredibly deep 2025 rookie class and ample opportunity, the Bears only walked away with 7th-round pick Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers and UDFA Deion Hankins out of Texas State-San Marcos.
As the roster stands today, here’s the depth at RB for the Chicago Bears:
- D’Andre Swift
- Roschon Johnson
- Travis Homer
- Kyle Monangai
- Ian Wheeler
- Deion Hankins
While many Bears fans became excited at the potential signing of free agent RB Nick Chubb, that opportunity is now gone as Chubb signed with the Houston Texans on Monday.
So, who’s still on the free agent market for Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles to consider?
Jamaal Williams
Everyone should be familiar with Jamaal Williams. Spent the first four years of his career in Green Bay, followed it up with two in Detroit, and finally the last two years in New Orleans. What makes Williams enticing is that the best season of his career was in 2022, his second season in Detroit, his first under rookie offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Williams racked up 1066 yards and led the league in TDs with 17. Friendly reminder that D’Andre Swift was on that 2022 Lions roster as well. The familiarity with Ben Johnson and the pairing of Williams-Swift having previous success makes Williams an intriguing low-risk option.
Gus Edwards
If the message didn’t get across with the suggestion of signing Jamaal Williams, adding Gus Edwards to the conversation might do it – power. The Bears need a strong, reliable power back to complement D’Andre Swift. Edwards spent the first five years of his career with John Harbaugh in Baltimore and last season with Jim Harbaugh in LA. In 11 games last season, Edwards had 101 carries for 365 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 FUM.
I realize that a significant portion of the fan base is comfortable with what the Bears have at running back. Kyle Monangai has been the favorite for recent fan hype, but with all due respect, let’s come back to reality a little bit. Monangai is 5’8 “and 209 pounds, and runs a 4.6. Can teams get legitimate starters, especially at the RB position, in the 7th round? Absolutely, but the hype of Monangai is simply a coping mechanism for not acquiring one of the top talents in the 2025 class.
In terms of Roschon Johnson, it merely hasn’t been there. Johnson had 55 carries for 150 yards and 6 TDs, averaging just 2.7 yards per carry. Going into the regular season with Johnson as your 2nd RB on the depth chart would be creating an unnecessary bottleneck on the run game.
Ben Johnson understands the importance of being able to commit to running the football.
When the Lions selected Jahmyr Gibbs with the 13th overall pick in 2023, it was a headscratcher among the majority of football fans and media, primarily because the Lions had just signed David Montgomery in free agency. It seems safe to say that Ben Johnson knew what he was doing.
It’d be shocking to see Ben Johnson and the Bears head into Week 1 of the regular season with this depth at RB.
Expect them to make an addition before training camp starts in late July.
PHOTO: Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
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