The Chicago Bears need a bounce-back season from D’Andre Swift. Moreover, he is working toward delivering it, speaking candidly about the need to improve for this season.
Swift offered the remarks when asked about his motivation for 2025 following the Bears’ second practice of this year’s training camp. It is the second summer in Lake Forest for the former Detroit Lions second-round pick (No. 35 overall in 2020).
Bears RB D’Andre Swift Gets Honest About ‘New Opportunity’
D’Andre Swift Eyeing Bounce-Back Season in Year 2 With Bears
Swift pointed to the team’s 5-12 record, saying he did not think that he “produced enough to contribute to wins.” He also said there was “a lot of stuff” he could “get better at,” citing “overall” improvement amid his excitement for his “new opportunity, new year.”
Asked what areas he felt needed addressing, Swift again cited the Bears’ record to emphasize that he is looking to improve.
“Everything, especially when numbers ain’t where they should be statistically,” Swift told Clocker Sports on Thursday. “We won four or five games. So, it’s like, [I] can’t sit up here and talk about anything positive, you know what I mean? Always got something to work on, always got something to get better at. So, like I said, … when team success is at a premium, everything else going to fall in line.”
Swift, 26, rushed for 959 yards and 6 touchdowns on 259 carries in 2024.
That left him with the second-most rushing yards and touchdowns in a single season of his career. Swift also set a new personal benchmark for touches. As Swift noted, he set a career-high in scrimmage yards last season, thanks to his 386 yards on 42 receptions.
The Bears revamped their offensive line. The lack of proven additions to the backfield this offseason could suggest confidence that Swift could have that bounce-back campaign.
D’Andre Swift Has History With Ben Johnson
Swift praised Bears head coach Ben Johnson, saying the experience has been “amazing” and citing the coach’s intelligence and creativity as a play-caller.
Similarly, Swift said Johnson’s sometimes fiery personality is nothing new, but is what the Bears need.
“Been the same way. That’s kind of what we need,” Swift said, “You want that from the head man. Just can’t let nothing slide by the wayside and let things kind of go on without addressing them. You ain’t going to win that way. We can’t get to where we’re trying to go that way either. So, it’s good.”
Johnson was in his first season as the Lions’ offensive coordinator when the team traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 after drafting Jahmyr Gibbs. That has led to questions about the Bears’ plans for Swift, especially amid offseason rumors about big plans for the position.
However, Johnson senses the desire in Swift, whose soft-spoken nature belies his competitive spirit.
“He has always been quiet. He’s always been highly motivated on the inside. So, there’s a lot of things about him that are the same as what they’ve been,” Johnson told reporters on July 24. He’s not happy with how last year went for him, production-wise, team-wise, everything-[wise]. He’s really motivated, he’s really excited to help lead and spur this team forward. So, I don’t think I see a whole lot of differences from where he’s been, but I see a very hungry individual.”
The Bears have 2023 fifth-round pick Roschon Johnson, 2025 seventh-rounder Kyle Monangai, special teams ace Travis Homer, and undrafted free agents Deion Hankins and Ian Wheeler behind Swift.
They need him to have a bounce-back season just as much as he is looking to have one.
However, with no guaranteed money on Swift’s three-year, $24 million contract for 2026, per Over The Cap, the Bears can cut him (post-June 1) in 2026 and save $7.5 million.