Kyle Monangai’s rookie season didn’t follow the typical seventh-round script. It started quietly, built steadily, and ended with him firmly embedded in one of the most productive rushing attacks in football.
Kyle Monangai’s 2025 Snapshot
OTHER 2025 CHICAGO BEARS SNAPSHOTS:
Quarterback Caleb Williams Tight End Colston Loveland Safety Kevin Byard III Defensive end Austin Booker Wide receiver Luther Burden III Running back D’Andre SwiftThe Bears finished 2025 with the third-best rushing offense in the NFL, powered by a true one-two punch in the backfield. D’Andre Swift provided the explosiveness and elusiveness, while Kyle Monangai supplied the edge with a hard, angry running style that kept the offense on schedule and defenses honest. Together, they became the only running back duo in the league to each rush for more than 750 yards, accounting for 102 first downs and setting the tone for Ben Johnson’s offense.
For Monangai, the production came fast once the door opened. The former Rutgers back finished the season with 783 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 169 carries, adding 164 receiving yards on 18 catches. That gave the rookie a a total of 947 scrimmage yards, which was second on the team behind Swift. When Swift wasn’t on the field, the Bears didn’t miss a beat.
Monangai’s role was limited early in the season, but his workload grew quickly as his reliability became impossible to ignore. His first real flash came in Week 7 against New Orleans, when he ran for 81 yards on 13 carries and scored his first NFL touchdown. Two weeks later, with Swift sidelined in Cincinnati, Monangai delivered the kind of performance that reshapes depth charts. He piled up 198 yards from scrimmage, including 176 rushing yards, in a wild 47-42 win against the Bengals. In doing so, he proved he could carry a starter’s workload without the offense losing its identity.
Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn ImagesThe physicality never faded. Monangai added another 100-yard rushing performance later in the year against Philadelphia and consistently made his presence felt in short-yardage situations by lowering his shoulder, finishing runs, and turning modest gains into first downs. He didn’t avoid contact; he sought it. And that mentality became a complement to Swift’s finesse game.
None of this surprised people inside Halas Hall. Despite being the 233rd pick in the draft, Monangai’s work ethic and coachability stood out throughout the offseason program. Injuries to Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer created an opportunity, and Monangai took it, forcing his way up the depth chart and into the weekly game plan.
By the end of the season, Kyle Monangai was no longer viewed as a depth piece or a feel-good story. Instead, he was a real part of the Bears’ offensive identity, a seventh-round pick who earned meaningful snaps, meaningful production, and the trust that comes with both. Heading into 2026, Monangai has already raised the bar, and there is a strong case that his role is only going to grow.
Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn ImagesBy the Numbers
Games: 17 Carries: 169 Rushing Yards: 783 Rushing Touchdowns: 5 Receptions: 18 Receiving Yards: 164 PFF Grade: 67.4 (46th of 59 running backs)Kyle Monangai’s Contract Status
(Contract details and figures are courtesy of Over The Cap)
Monangai is entering the second season of a four-year, $4.32 million rookie contract signed after Chicago selected him in the seventh round (No. 233) of the 2025 NFL Draft. Monangai holds a cap number of $1.03 million in 2026.
Turning the Page
Kyle Monangai was terrific in 2025 and is likely to see an increased role in Chicago’s backfield in 2026. Cutting D’Andre Swift has been thrown around as fans and pundits search for ways to create some cap space for the Bears this spring, but I doubt that’s how things play out.
Cutting Swift could open up $7.47 million in cap space in 2026. But ditching Swift on the heels of a career-best season, while he is the 16th highest paid running back in the NFL (before people start getting paid this spring at that), to create minimal cap space, that they’ll have to allocate some of to a replacement for Swift, makes little to zero sense.
Chicago could draft another running back in April with Swift’s contract expiring after the 2026 season. Still, I would bet on Ben Johnson and the Bears preferring continuity in the running back room in 2026, with Monangai getting a bigger (and deserved) piece of the pie in the Chicago backfield next season.
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