The Chicago Bears have been projected to upgrade their running back room once more before the start of the 2026 season with a trade for a former Pro Bowler.
The Bears are planning to rely on the same running back pair — veteran D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai — in 2026 that paced them to the third-best rushing offense in the league last season, but the depth options are limited behind their two primary rushers.
At the outset of camp, Roschon Johnson is the No. 3 running back on their depth chart, but the 2023 fourth-round pick is coming off a disappointing, injury-troubled season in 2025 and entering the final year of his rookie contract, making his roster hold tenuous.
Johnson, however, doesn’t have much competition behind him on the depth chart, with Brittain Brown, Salvon Ahmed and undrafted rookie Coleman Bennett the only other backs on Chicago’s 90-man roster to push him for his role behind Swift and Monangai.
To resolve the uncertainty, Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay suggested a more radical idea for the Bears, projecting them to take advantage of the Arizona Cardinals‘ loaded backfield and make a trade for two-time Pro Bowl veteran James Conner as their new RB3.
“Conner represents a massive upgrade in that spot while carrying a modest $4.8 million cap hit,” Kay wrote July 28. “Adding him and his team-friendly deal would allow the Bears to rotate three strong running backs who can grind down defenses and stave off their own wear-and-tear.”
James Conner Would Be Luxury for Bears in 2026
There are a few reasons to like a trade sending Conner to Chicago. For starters, before the injury that limited him to three games in 2025, he ran for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons for the Arizona Cardinals, scoring 18 total touchdowns in the same span.
Conner is also ultra-affordable for a veteran with his experience. He carries a cap hit of just $4.83 million for the 2026 season, a number that would sink to $2.85 million for his new team if the Cardinals traded him, as they would eat $2.25 million in dead cap.
The issue is the potential trade compensation. Conner would provide an upgrade over Johnson as the Bears’ third-string running back, but he would essentially be a luxury addition for them, making it highly unlikely that they would give up much in a trade.
Perhaps the Bears could work out a late-round pick swap with the Cardinals and send them back Johnson in the deal. Even then, though, Chicago may decide it is not worth giving up assets to acquire a 31-year-old running back coming off a severe foot injury.
Roschon Johnson May Lose Spot Without Outside Addition
The likelihood of the Bears making a trade for Conner seems low at the outset of camp, but Kay isn’t wrong to suggest that Johnson’s roster security is flimsy for the new year.
Johnson has shown flashes of his potential over his first three seasons in Chicago. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry on 81 attempts and caught 34 of his 40 targets as a rookie in 2023 while operating in a rotation with Khalil Herbert and D’Onta Foreman. He also punched in six touchdowns as the Bears’ short-yardage/goal-line running back in 2024.
Unfortunately for him, Johnson had a myriad of injuries stack up for him in 2025 after the arrival of head coach Ben Johnson and his new offensive coaching staff in January. Not only did he miss 10 games with a combination of foot, back and thumb injuries, but he also played just four offensive snaps across the seven games in which he was healthy.
Effectively, that leaves Johnson on his last legs with the Bears entering 2026’s camp. He is still the apparent favorite to win the No. 3 role in the rushing rotation, but the Bears may lean toward one of their other options if they remain disillusioned with Johnson.
Brown — a 2025 practice-squad holdover — appeared in three games for the Bears last season but made his most significant mark in Week 9’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals while filling in as their No. 2 back. Monangai stepped up as the starter for the injured Swift, while Brown added five carries for 37 yards and a touchdown as his complement.
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