The Chicago Bears didn't get enough production out of the running back position in 2024.
D'Andre Swift averaged a mediocre 3.8 yards per carry. And second-year back Roschon Johnson had a miserable campaign, at just 2.7 yards per carry.
ESPN's Seth Walder thinks they should take a different path forward. In a new article Wednesday, he proposes a three-team deal that lands the Bears a new starting RB.
The details proposed by Walder:
- Bears receive: RB Rachaad White, 2027 seventh-round pick (from Chargers)
- Chargers receive: RB D'Andre Swift, 2026 sixth-round pick (from Bears)
- Buccaneers receive: 2026 fifth-round pick (from Bears)
Chicago would be rolling with White, who lost his lead role in Tampa Bay to Bucky Irving.
The Chargers would give Swift a shot. He may help if Najee Harris (eye) is forced to miss time, although rookie Omarion Hampton may already be prepared to carry the backfield load there.
The Bucs get off White for a draft pick. They'd be set in the backfield with Irving and Sean Tucker.
"The major impetus for the deal here is the assumption that Bears head coach Ben Johnson will place a similar emphasis on the running game as he did in Detroit, and that Swift simply isn't good enough to carry that load," Walder writes. "Swift posted a remarkably poor negative-174 rush yards over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats, which was the worst total of any player last season... White, in contrast, added 48 rush yards over expectation on 144 carries last season in Tampa Bay. And he's elite in the pass game, with the second-best overall receiver score over the past three seasons combined -- behind only Christian McCaffrey."
After reading that case, Bears fans are probably all aboard this train.
Walder does acknowledge that three-team trades almost never happen in the NFL. But this one really does seem like it has something for everyone.
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