Bears strike fast, agree to deal with new RB D’Andre Swift WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio [Video]

Just 12 minutes into the so-called NFL’s legal tampering period, the Chicago Bears landed a running back.

It wasn’t Saquon Barkley, which had been rumored for a couple days, but D’Andre Swift. Swift agreed to a three-year, $24 million deal from the Bears, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Media. No deal can be officially signed until Wednesday when the league year starts so Swift or the Bears could back out, but it appears the Bears’ first order of business in free agency was spending some of their cap space on an upgrade at running back.

Swift, who spent his first three seasons with the Detroit Lions, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles before last season. He had 1,049 rushing yards with five touchdowns with the Eagles and turned that into a nice payday with the Bears. That contract could reset the market for other free agent running backs like Barkley and Josh Jacobs.