Bears make expected decision with Kyler Gordon but one extra detail leaves the door open for a potential return this season
Could the Bears look to have Gordon back for the playoffs?
The Chicago Bears got disappointing news leading up to kickoff last Sunday against the Green Bay Packers when standout cornerback Kyler Gordon suffered a groin injury in warmups and was held out of the game.
It’s been an overall frustrating season for Gordon who’s now had to deal with hamstring, calf, and groin injuries this season alone and played in just three total games. Similar frustrations were felt by the coaching staff after this latest setback.
“It’s disappointing,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson told reporters on Monday. “I wish I had a better feel for the individual. But with him being out as much as he has been, I haven’t really gotten to see him on the field and competing and get to know him like I’d like to at this point yet.”
Johnson noted that Gordon’s injury “it didn’t look very good” and said the timeline was to be determined for his potential return. On Saturday, the Bears made the expected decision to place Gordon on the injured reserve, but left the door open for a potential return, just not in the regular season with four weeks remaining.
Bears could look to have Kyler Gordon return from the IR for the playoffs
Entering the final slate of the regular season, the Bears are 9-4 going into Week 15 and feel like at least two more wins are required to earn a spot in the playoffs in a competitive NFC conference.
“We will be a playoff team once we earn enough wins to become a playoff team,” Johnson said. “Right now, we are a 9-win team, and I don’t think 9 wins is going to get you in this year, so we have to do what we can to get enough wins to find a way to get into the tournament.”
Saying the Bears get to that point, there’s a shot Gordon could return for the postseason considering the team didn’t place him on the season-ending IR, just the one that requires him to miss a minimum of four games until his practice window can be opened again.
At the same time, with core muscle injuries, and the recent history Gordon has had dealing with multiple ones this season, the smart bet would be to fully shut him down for the season.
“I do know the biggest predictor of a soft-tissue injury is having a previous one and he’s kind of in this rut right now that we’re not able to get out of,” Johnson explained. “So we’re going to exhaust all of our resources in and outside of the building to make sure we’re addressing it and doing what we can to get him back and healthy again.”
A lot of ifs go into this possibly, but if the Bears find a way into the dance and Gordon starts to make real progress over the next four weeks in his rehab, never say never. In the meantime, the Bears will turn back to C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the nickel and try to mask the clear disadvantage without having Gordon on the field.
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