Bears running back Kyle Monangai has been ruled out of Sunday's game in Green Bay with a toe injury he sustained in last weekend's 23-12 win over the Jets.
The 2025 seventh-round pick also hurt his thumb while rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 30 carries. But that injury would not have prevented him from playing against the Packers.
"We were certainly conscious of the thumb, and it turns out the toe is a bigger deal than we initially anticipated," said coach Ben Johnson, who described Monangai's status as week-to-week. "We've got him with a specialist and so we'll work through that. He's in a boot currently and we'll go from there."
Monangai leads the Bears and ranks seventh in the NFL in rushing with 324 yards and three touchdowns on 60 carries, an average of a robust 5.4 yards per carry. As a team, the Bears are No. 1 in the NFL in rushing at 196.3 yards per game.
Running back D'Andre Swift was a full participant in Friday's practice and was not given an injury designation for Sunday's game after sitting out Wednesday and being limited Thursday with hip and knee issues.
The seventh-year pro is eighth in the NFL in rushing—one spot below Monangai—with 311 yards and three TDs on 69 attempts. After losing a fumble midway through the third quarter versus the Jets, Swift did not touch the ball again. But the Bears are confident that he will overcome that adversity.
"He's the same guy," Johnson said. "Nothing's changed. I'm not concerned about anything other than him getting his body back underneath him and ready to go. I think yesterday he proved that he's going to be able to help us here this weekend, so I'm very optimistic about that."
With Monangai out, fourth-year running back Roschon Johnson moves up a spot to No. 2 on the depth chart. The 6-foot, 227-pounder has rushed for 16 yards on four carries this year—all in the fourth quarter of last Sunday's win over the Jets.
"I was really pleased with what he looked like in camp," Johnson said. "He was one of those guys that we just hadn't seen a lot of because of the injury history. And yet, since he's been healthy, he runs hard. That showed up again last week when he got the ball in his hands, put his foot in the ground and got north and south right away.
"Bigger body than the other guys in that room, and so I think he's a complete back. He can run hard in between the tackles. I think he's got enough speed to get to the perimeter. He catches the ball well out of the backfield and then because of his size, I think he's an asset in pass protection as well. So, he can do a little bit of everything, which we really value at that spot."
Quarterback Caleb Williams, meanwhile, returned to practice on a limited basis Friday for the first time since injuring his hamstring in the fourth quarter of a Week 2 game against the Vikings. He is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest, though Johnson announced Monday that Tyson Bagent will start in Green Bay.
"[Williams] is right on track," Johnson said. "We've got him throwing a little bit the other day and we've got a progression set up for what that looks like, so to be determined how long it's going to be.
"We've got him progressively increasing the amount of running that's going on and of course the throwing aspect of it is a big part of his position as well. Our guys have a good plan in place and we're just going step-by-step with that right now and every couple of days we're getting a throwing protocol in and making sure there are no setbacks. So far, so good."
Johnson said that it's "highly likely" the Bears will activate one of the three players who are on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list: Cornerback Kyler Gordon, defensive lineman Shemar Turner and Noah Sewell. All three are listed as questionable after practicing without limitations Friday.
In other injury news, rookie linebacker Keyshaun Elliott (quad) has been ruled out of Sunday's game.
For the Packers, star outside linebacker Micah Parsons remains on the PUP list as he continues to recover from a torn ACL he sustained last Dec. 14. In addition, Green Bay lost linebacker Edgerrin Cooper for the season with a torn ACL last Sunday versus the Buccaneers.
Offensively, Packers receiver Jayden Reed (neck) is out for the season and left guard Aaron Banks (knee/toe) is doubtful for Sunday's game.
