The Chicago Bears have, for now, settled on keeping their backfield stocked with the same running backs who led them in 2024, but the door remains open for them to make a bigger upgrade if they are willing to make a blockbuster trade.
The Bears are returning starter D’Andre Swift and both backups, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer, for the 2025 season along with Ian Wheeler, who had made a solid case for the 53-man roster last summer before suffering a season-ending injury in August. They also added seventh-round rookie pick Kyle Monangai in this spring’s draft.
Nevertheless, noise about the Bears making a more substantial upgrade at running back has continued to follow them into the warmer months of the 2025 NFL offseason.
Most recently, Jarrett Bailey of The Sporting News pitched the Bears going after one of the top running backs in the league in 2024, devising a trade scenario in which Chicago would send Swift and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for James Cook.
“If the Bills were to trade Cook, they’d likely try to get a running back in return,” Bailey wrote. “Swift has proven to be a good starting running back when he has a good offensive line in front of him (see his 2023 season with the Eagles). Should the Bills be able to get Swift and a Day 3 pick, that could be worth exploring.”
James Cook Tied for Most Rushing TDs in NFL in 2024
Cook burst his way into the upper echelon of active NFL running backs during the 2024 season. Not only did he post his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season for the Bills, but he also ran in 16 touchdowns that tied him for the league most with Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs and quadrupled his previous career rushing touchdown total.
More impressive is how Cook scored on the ground. According to Pro Football Focus, he rushed for nine touchdowns on plays in which the Bills needed six or more yards to reach the end zone. That makes him just one of three running backs to score that many times from that distance since 2008, joining Saquon Barkley (2024) and Henry (2019).
Additionally, Cook has shown adept pass-catching ability in his 49 career games with 97 catches for 883 yards and seven touchdowns on 124 career targets (7.1 yards per target).
For Cook to make sense for Chicago, the Bears would need to be looking for an upgrade from Swift and not a running mate with a different skill set. Cook and Swift are similar backs in their stature and rushing styles, so it would make little sense to keep them both — hence why Bailey suggested the Bears could send Swift to the Bills in his exchange.
If the Bears want to swap out Swift, though, they could convince themselves that there is greater untapped potential in Cook, especially given that he achieved his stronger production in 2024 while playing on just 47.5% of the Bills’ total offensive snaps.
Would Bears Pay James Cook $15 Million Per Year?
The Bears could realistically talk themselves into dealing away Swift and a future Day 3 draft pick for Cook if they feel strongly that the latter is on the verge of superstardom.
The trickiest part of the equation, though, is navigating Cook’s financial expectations.
Cook is looking for a new contract heading into the final year of his rookie deal in 2025, which is one of the key reasons why analysts are discussing him as a possible trade chip. Based on his offseason comments, he is also seeking $15 million annually from the Bills, which would tie him with Henry as the third-highest-paid rusher in per-year value.
The Bears might not want to pony up that much money for Cook, even if the Bills decide to shop him on the trade market. The improvements in their offensive line and scheme could take a running back like Cook to the next level, but so, too, could it benefit a back such as Swift, who had his career-best season behind Philadelphia’s sturdy line in 2023.
Ultimately, the Bears would need to feel confident that Cook is not only giving them an immediate upgrade at the position but also that he can be a long-term starter for them.
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