The Bills signed Wheeler to a one-year deal on Thursday, Alec White of the team's official site reports.
Wheeler signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2024 before suffering a knee injury that killed all momentum in his rookie season. The running back joined the Saints' practice squad in 2025 before departing the league for the UFL. Wheeler was named United Bowl MVP and rushed for 541 yards over 85 carries in 11 games during the 2026 UFL season. The 24-year-old will compete for a depth spot with the Bills behind 2025 rushing-title winner James Cook.
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Ian Wheeler: Cut from practice squad
Rotowire
The Saints cut Wheeler from the practice squad Tuesday.
Wheeler was signed to the practice squad last week. He's never appeared in a regular-season NFL contest.
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Ian Wheeler: Works out with Minnesota
Rotowire
The Vikings hosted Wheeler (undisclosed) for a workout Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Wheeler appears to have fully recovered from an undisclosed injury that led to an injury settlement with the Bears in early September. Now that he's healthy, the 25-year-old running back out of Howard is looking to catch on with a team in need of depth out of the backfield.
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Bears' Ian Wheeler: Heads to IR
Rotowire
Wheeler (undisclosed) cleared waivers Wednesday and reverted to the Bears' injured reserve, per the NFL's official media site.
Wheeler got a good look in preseason with 26 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns in addition to a 14-yard catch on his lone target through two games. The second-year running back out of Howard spent the 2024 season on injured reserve with a knee injury, and he'll face a same situation this year unless he reaches an injury settlement with the team.
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Ian Wheeler: Cut by Chicago
Rotowire
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: 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: 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.
