Bears Lose Odunze and Swift to Practice Injuries as Backups Enter the Picture

Chicago's fantasy outlook took a double hit at practice Thursday, with both wideout Rome Odunze and running back D'Andre Swift leaving the field early with injuries. Swift — who put up 229 PPR points in 2025 on the back of 1,087 rushing yards and nine touchdowns across 16 games — was seen holding his midsection and appeared to be in real discomfort before retreating for treatment. Odunze went down earlier in the session, hobbling during install work and needing a trainer.

Neither injury has a diagnosis yet, and that matters. The Bears won't release an official injury report until Wednesday, Sept. 9, and coach Ben Johnson isn't expected to address the media until next week. Reports indicated Odunze wasn't overly worried about his issue, but he still didn't return. Swift's situation looked more concerning based on how he came off.

Why Swift's Room Is Thin

Here's the wrinkle: the Bears are only carrying three running backs on their 53-man roster. If Swift misses time, rookie Kyle Monangai steps into the lead role — but he's nursing a hyperextended right knee of his own, so that plan isn't clean. Monangai flashed as a rookie last season (2025) with 783 rushing yards and five scores, good for 143 PPR points and our No. 31 RB rank, though his last five games ran 1.6 fantasy points below his own average.

If both backs are limited, Chicago would likely elevate a practice-squad body like Salvon Ahmed or Zavier Scott. That's a committee no fantasy manager wants to untangle in Week 1.

The Odunze Domino

On the receiving side, Odunze absence would push Luther Burden III into the WR1 role. Burden is trending the right way — his last five games of 2025 came in at +5.1 fantasy points over his season average, and he finished with 47 catches for 652 yards and two touchdowns (128 PPR points). He's our No. 47 WR overall, so this is more of a deep-league dart than a plug-and-play answer, but the target volume would be real if Odunze sits.

The fantasy move right now is patience. Swift is our No. 15 RB and No. 41 player overall — you're not benching that off a practice scare with zero diagnosis. Hold him and watch Wednesday's injury report closely. If you have a bench spot, Burden is the sharper speculative stash than any of Chicago's depth backs given his form and clearer path to snaps.