The Bears waived Wheeler on Monday with an injury designation.
Wheeler didn't play in the preseason finale after rushing 26 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns across the first two exhibitions. He added one catch for 14 yards. Wheeler is slated to revert to IR, assuming he clears waivers.
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Bears' Ian Wheeler: Activated from NFI
Rotowire
The Bears activated Wheeler (undisclosed) from the active/non-football injury list Tuesday.
Wheeler signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent out of Howard following the 2024 NFL Draft and then suffered a knee injury in last summer's preseason finale. He spent the season on injured reserve but will now compete for a job behind D'Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai in the backfield.
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Bears' Ian Wheeler: Placed on active/NFI list
Rotowire
Wheeler (undisclosed) was moved to the active/non-football injury list by the Bears on Saturday.
Once Wheeler is ready to return to practice, he can come off the active/NFI list at any time throughout training camp and the preseason. The running back missed his rookie season last year with a knee injury but returned in time for June OTAs. If he can come back for training camp, he should have a chance to compete for a depth role in a backfield led by D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson.
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Bears' Ian Wheeler: Spends season on injured reserve
Rotowire
Wheeler spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in the preseason finale.
Wheeler was signed in May of 2024 as an undrafted free agent. The running back is signed with Chicago through 2026.
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Bears' Ian Wheeler: Headed for IR
Rotowire
The Bears plan to place Wheeler (knee) on IR, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com and Chris Emma of 670TheScore.com report.
Per Emma, the running back suffered a torn ACL on Thursday, an injury that is on track to land the Howard product on season-ending IR. Ahead of Week 1, the Bears' top healthy backfield options are D'Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer.
