Rome Odunze embracing his ‘new normal’ after foot injury derailed his sophomore season — and the Bears should bet on a big comeback
Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze is looking to put his 2025 foot injury that derailed a promising second season in the past and reestablish himself as a top threat on this offense.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson turned some heads last week at OTAs when he said he’s “buying stock” in second-year wide receiver Luther Burden III. He’s correct in saying that, but the real stock value is buying the dip on Rome Odunze.
Odunze entered the league at the same time as quarterback Caleb Williams and the who had an immediate connection with one another from the jump. In Year 2 under Johnson’s offense, Odunze exploded out of the gate, recording 296 yards and five touchdowns in his first four games.
That hot start cooled after Odunze suffered a fractured bone in his foot that continued to limit him throughout the rest of the regular season. Even still, Odunze battled through it missing just five games while leading the team in targets. Now, Odunze is looking to adjust to his new normal and start building his stock back up in this offense.
Chicago Bears WR Rome Odunze looking to put injuries concerns somewhat behind him
“It was tough, it was tough,” Odunze told reporters Wednesday after practice. “Obviously, I was gearing up for a great season. I felt like I was on track to have that. And injuries are part of the game. Unfortunately, I feel like it affected me more than injuries have in the past. That wasn’t obviously the goal. I have my goals for this season, and the injury kind of prohibited some of those things. But it’s part of the game. You go through that adversity and you’re better for it.”
While Odunze is eager to put the injury behind him, it’s not the kind of injury you can fully move past. Fans would be quick to find concern in that statement, but it’s more complex than a simple recovery and not something that should limit him long-term.
“It’s not from a standpoint that I’m always in pain, but the way my foot broke there’s calluses in there that creates a different type of foot structure with those bones — different types of things that kind of shift things around,” Odunze explained. “So my new normal was kind of what I am going into. And I don’t think that’s anything that’s going to prohibit me from making plays, but I feel like with the break it’s just like when you tear your ACL, it’s never really back to normal.”
Injuries weren’t the only concerns that derailed Odunze’s sophomore season
While the foot injury played a big part in slowing him down, the connection with Williams wasn’t as flawless as it could have been last season. Odunze had some major drops and his 48.5 reception percentage ranked last on the team among players with 10+ targets, which wasn’t something he struggled with previously.
“You go back and you pull that film (from college) and match it up with the plays that he has made in the NFL as it relates to those 50/50 balls or what have you,” WRs coach Antwaan Randle El said. “The one thing you get is that the confidence is restored, let’s go do it from that standpoint.”
Ultimately, Odunze understands where he can get better going into Year 3 and that’s the first step. Entering Year 3, the time is now for Odunze to put together a strong full season because contract talks will be heating up soon.
He absolutely has the ability, and the connection with his quarterback, to put up 1,000+ yards and possibly double-digit touchdowns, even alongside Burden and Colston Loveland.
The other thing is that he’s battled through a tough injury and now is making it out of the other side, which has earned him even more respect inside the building.
“He’s tough, and I think that’s what we all knew when he was coming out of college and certainly that makes you worthy of where he was drafted,” Johnson said. “He’s a team player, he’s going to lay it out on the line every time he gets on the grass, and so I think his teammates appreciate that. His coaching staff certainly appreciates that, and, you know, hopefully we can get him 17-plus games this year and, you know, his career will really take off for that.”