INDIANAPOLIS – Ben Johnson has worked with D’Andre Swift before. He was Lions offensive coordinator when the running back in Detroit.

Swift was drafted out of Georgia in 2020, a second-rounder with a bright future. He was part of committees during his time there but ended up with a career-low 99 carries in Johnson’s first year as OC, though he averaged 5.5 yards per carry. He dealt with ankle and shoulder injuries during the year, but Detroit looked for an upgrade.

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Then the Lions drafted Jahmyr Gibbs in 2023 and then traded Swift to Philadelphia. Swift had a career year with the Eagles and turned that into a three-year, $24 million contract with the Bears.

Then Matt Eberflus flamed out in-season and Ben Johnson was hired in Chicago last month.

Hence the reunion of Johnson and Swift.

Will it be awkward, considering Johnson was an important figure when Swift got shipped out?

Hearing Johnson talk about it here at the NFL Scouting Combine, odds seem slim.

“I was with ‘Swifty’ when we first drafted him in Detroit a number of years ago, and I followed his career even after he left Detroit,” Johnson said on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “I think very highly of him. He’s an explosive athlete. There’s a number of things that he can do both in the running game and the passing game.

“I do think he can help ignite an offense because He’s got that playmaking ability. So, it’ll be fun to start to work together again here this springtime with him.”

Swift’s first Bears season should be considered underwhelming. He finished with a career-low 3.8 yards per carry despite showing explosive playmaking ability. Swift struggled at the outset, and didn’t fit well with Shane Waldron’s blocking scheme, which Thomas Brown also had to execute.

He didn’t produce to his contractual value in 2024. Can Johnson get him going in 2025, when he didn’t seem to favor him in Detroit. The schematics will be better. The Bears should invest heavily in the offensive front. All that should help Swift fare better in his second season.

The 26-year-old will get the chance. Releasing him saves just $555k, per OverTheCap.com,  and adds $8.77 million in dead money. That’s NFL contract code for this: Swift will stick around.

That won’t preclude the Bears from adding to the position, even with Roschon Johnson proving decent but essentially getting attempts in short-yardage situations.

The Lions had an excellent line and star rushers behind it, with Gibbs and former Bears smasher David Montgomery leading the way. It’s fair to expect a similar setup in Chicago, or an attempt to do so, over time.

Johnson must unlock Swift in a way that didn’t happen in 2022, and the rusher himself must be better overall in his second Chicago season. A release gets a lot easier in 2026, so this is an important season for Swift, a prove-it year, to get back on track with someone he has worked with before.