Odunze day to day
Ben Johnson gave his medical update on Tuesday. Rome Odunze is “pretty much day to day” after the foot injury he picked up in practice last Thursday. The Bears coach made no secret of the fact that his receiver would not train on the day, while still sounding confident about Sunday and the season opener. “I don’t think he’ll be out there today, but we’re hoping to see him on the field Sunday.”
This isn’t a minor issue for Chicago. Odunze already dealt with a stress fracture in the foot last season, a different injury from this one. Even so, he finished the campaign with 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns in 12 starts. Since being taken ninth overall in the 2024 draft, the 24-year-old receiver has 98 catches, 1,395 yards and nine touchdowns in 29 games, 24 of them starts.
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Gordon will miss the opener
The second update is less encouraging. Kyler Gordon is dealing with a calf problem and is not expected to feature on Sunday. According to ESPN, the cornerback will work away from the group as he focuses on rehab. A return to practice is being eyed before the end of the month. The Bears are upbeat in the bigger picture, but the first game is coming too soon.
Gordon is coming off a near write-off of a season: just three games played, first because of a groin injury and now this calf issue. The timing is brutal for a player who was handed a three-year, $40 million extension before the 2025 season. In four NFL seasons, he has 214 tackles, five interceptions and 17 passes defended in 45 games, 35 of them starts.
A thin opening-day roster
Chicago will head into its first game with a battered secondary and a late call still hanging over its top receiver. Johnson has a few more days to decide on Odunze, and there is no reason for the staff to rush a foot that was already damaged 12 months ago. For Gordon, this looks more like a weeks-not-days situation.
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