Ben Johnson calls Monangai (knee) week-to-week

Monangai suffered a right knee injury when he was tackled from behind by Grady Jarrett on Sunday. Despite earlier reports that Monangai would be fine, he’s now set to miss multiple weeks with a hyperextended knee, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Roschon Johnson would be in line to serve as the primary backup to D’Andre Swift for the first few weeks if the Bears don’t bring in another running back.

According to Schefter, initial tests indicate Monangai’s knee is structurally sound. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI to confirm the results, but it sounds like Monangai avoided suffering a consequential injury. This is great news for the second-year back, who warrants standalone FLEX treatment if his knee checks out. Starting RB D’Andre Swift can easily shoulder a few extra touches if Monangai needs to be eased into action next month.

According to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Monangai “got tangled up” with DT Grady Jarrett when the injury occurred. The second-year running back was able to walk off the field and into the locker room under his own power. The fact that the cart was not needed might be a good sign, but unfortunately, we are simply in wait-and-see mode for the time being. Bears RBs Roschon Johnson and Brittain Brown sit on the depth chart behind him. Starting RB D’Andre Swift could absorb a big chunk of Monangai’s workload if he misses time.

He missed four training camp practices while dealing with the injury, but it seems that this won’t be a long-term hinderance. He can be drafted with confidence, or at least as much confidence as you can find in backs in a timeshare, in fantasy leagues.

We still don’t know the specifics of Monangai’s injury, but Johnson said the team is “taking it day-by-day” with the second-year back and that his absence “should be on the shorter side.” While it doesn’t sound like the team is overly concerned at this point, it is worth pointing out that Monangai hasn’t practiced since last Wednesday. We’ll see if he can return to the field before the end of this week.

It’s very early in training camp and we aren’t really concerned at this point, but it is a bit alarming that Monangai’s injury has kept him out this many practices in a row. Cronin points out that Monangai is the only player not practicing who isn’t on the PUP or NFI lists. We’ll keep an eye on this one.

Studesville spent 2022-25 serving as the Dolphins’ assistant head coach and running backs coach under former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. According to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jason Lieser, over the past year, Johnson has mentioned multiple times that he is fascinated by McDaniel’s creativity in the run game. Lieser did not elaborate on which tactics Johnson is interested in learning more about, but a cursory PFF data review shows the Dolphins used lead run concepts at the league’s third-highest rate (32.5 percent) last year, while Johnson’s Bears used them at just a 14.6 percent rate. Adding some of the creative — and successful — concepts that Studesville learned from McDaniel can only be viewed as a good thing for Bears RBs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.

Monangai’s strong rookie season officially comes to an end. The seventh-rounder didn’t waste any time working his way into the Bears’ running back rotation last offseason, and popped up to rush for 169-783-5 as a rookie. Monangai’s 18 receptions for 164 yards could hint at increased usage in the passing game next season, and he also saw four or more targets in three of his final five games this season — including Sunday’s playoff game. While it seems unlikely he’ll be usurping D’Andre Swift on the running back depth chart next season, Monangai is clearly playing the “David Montgomery role” in Ben Johnson’s offense and thrived in that role in his rookie campaign. It’s too early to say he’ll have any more than RB3 value in fantasy leagues in 2026, but Monangai should have a real role with the Bears in 2026 and could grow it further if he outplays Swift.

Swift scored a touchdown late in the contest, and also had a terrific catch where he reversed direction on a swing-out that set up another. The 26-year-old received 15 touches while Kyle Monangai turned eight carries into 27 yards with one 22-yard reception. Swift will remain the RB1 — with Monangai involved — in the Divisional Round against the Rams or Eagles.

The Bears gained only four first downs in the first half and were held off the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter, a game environment that limited the veteran back to only 11 touches in the loss. More late-game heroics from quarterback Caleb Williams eventually tied the game at 16 before Goff and the Lions stole the win on a last minute field goal as time expired. The bigger picture for Swift is that he continued to operate as the primary back in what was once a timeshare situation with Kyle Monangai, the latter of whom managed only 14 yards on six carries and 15 yards on his lone reception. Swift and the Bears now prepare to host the Packers in the Wildcard Round after the Eagles also lost in Week 18.