Bear Digest

The Chicago Bears have a running back problem, and this free agent signing might solve it

Alan Goldsher

Will running back Najee Harris hurdle his way to Chicago?
Will running back Najee Harris hurdle his way to Chicago? / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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Somewhat lost in the controversy of the Chicago Bears’ 2024 season was the fact that their running back room kinda stunk.

Lead back D’Andre Swift was inconsistent and inefficient, rushing for 959 yards on a career-high 253 attempts for a career-worst average of 3.8 yards per carry and a career-worst success rate of 43.9%.

Due to injury and a lack of usage, backups Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer combined for 173 yards on 61 carries. To Johnson’s credit, he punched in six rushing touchdowns—tying him with Swift for the team lead—but the second-year man didn’t move any needles.

This is a problem. But it can be fixed.

Steal the Steeler

The 2025 crop of free agent running backs isn’t particularly inspiring. Aaron Jones Jr. is solid, but beyond him, you’re looking at underwhelming Javonte Williams, eternally injured Nick Chubb, and career backups like Jeff Wilson and A.J. Dillon.

But there is one name that might get Bears GM Ryan Poles all tingly, that being soon-to-be former Pittsburgh Steeler, Najee Harris.

Harris hasn’t had a true chance to flex his muscles, because for the majority of his career, he’s shared a backfield with talented bruiser Jaylen Warren. In spite of that, Harris topped 1,000 yards on the ground in each of his four NFL seasons. And while he’s not a prolific receiver, he’s caught 180 of his 233 career targets, for a reasonable catch rate of 77.2%.

Best of all, he’s proven that he can thrive in a shared backfield.

And so has D’Andre Swift.

Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun

As a Detroit Lion in 2022—a season in which he was running plays drawn up by then-Detroit offensive coordinator and current Bears head coach Ben Johnson—Swift sort of split carries with Jamaal Williams…and we say “sort of” because Williams racked up 262 carries to Swift’s 99.

But Swift made the most of his touches, compiling a career-best average of 5.5 yards per carry, and scoring eight all-purpose touchdowns, five of which came on the ground.

At this point in their respective careers, Swift and Harris have proven they can remain both productive and healthy in a shared-duty situation…and when it comes to his running backs, Ben Johnson loves himself some shared-duty situations.

Pick ‘Em?

The Bears have multiple RB options in the draft—nobody would be upset if Poles grabbed Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty in the first round or Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson in the second—but if he can ink Harris to a reasonable deal (say $27 million over three years), that gives Poles plenty of draft freedom, and Johnson a fancy new backfield toy.

The Chicago Bears have a ton of salary cap space this summer. What say we give Najee Harris a piece of it.

Published
Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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