CalebWilliams

Oct 12

D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai both appeared on the injury report this week.

Swift was benched last week with a fumble and didn’t practice on Wednesday with a hip and knee injury. However, he practiced in a limited capacity Thursday and was a full participant Friday. Monangai also didn’t practice Wednesday with a thumb and toe injury, but he never practiced all week and was ultimately inactive. That moved Roschon Johnson up to second on the depth chart, while Xavier Scott was a practice squad call-up on Saturday to be third. Swift spent most of the game rotating out less frequently than usual, despite his benching last week and the injury concerns. He played 40 of the first 56 snaps. The Bears lost in a blowout, and while they didn’t pull other starters, they did take Swift, with Johnson handling each of the last 13 snaps. This led Swift to end the game playing a little less than usual. Swift only played an OK game, running nine times for 43 yards and a touchdown while catching four passes for 30 yards. He should be more effective as a runner once defenses have to worry more about the passing game again with Caleb Williams at quarterback. Swift should be a buy-low candidate after Week 5.

Tom Christ·Oct 10

Injury: Williams returned to limited practice Friday but remains questionable for Week 5. Expected Time Missed: Day to day. Caleb is officially questionable, but Tyson Bagent is still expected to start. He has missed two games with a reported grade II hamstring strain. At this stage, pain may have improved considerably while the tissue is still repairing and remodeling. Feeling better does not necessarily mean the hamstring has regained its strength or tolerance for explosive movement, so returning before those qualities recover would increase his re-injury risk. Another week gives him more time to build strength and progress through football-specific rehab, though it does not guarantee full recovery. Re-injury risk is highest in the first two weeks after returning and can remain elevated for months. Quarterbacks generally face less repeated sprinting than receivers and running backs, but Caleb’s scrambling still exposes the hamstring to substantial stress. Because this is his right hamstring, it could also affect how comfortably he drives off his back leg when throwing. Quarterback biomechanics research highlights the rear leg’s contribution to force generation, making reduced throwing power a possibility to monitor rather than a certainty. His acceleration and rushing upside are my bigger concerns when he returns.