Rome Odunze gets the yellow light for Sunday and Ben Johnson’s latest comments don’t ease concerns about his injury situation
Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze is still a question mark going into Week 1 after dealing with a foot injury but how much the Bears use him on Sunday will be something to watch.
As the Chicago Bears head into the weekend ahead of Week 1, all eyes will be on wide receiver Rome Odunze after officially being listed as questionable on the team’s final injury report of the week.
Head coach Ben Johnson said earlier in the week that he’s hopeful Odunze will play in the regular season opener, who’s been dealing with a calf injury since last Thursday’s practice. Odunze was officially limited during his last two days of practice.
“Our plan was to get him practice (on Thursday) and today and we’ll assess where he’s at after that,” Johnson told reporters ahead of Friday’s practice. “He’s looked good from my perspective, but we also got a long season coming up on us and we want to do what’s right for him for the long-term as well.”
Rome Odunze’s status is still one to watch going into Week 1, especially if the Bears learned their lesson
As Johnson noted, the assessment of Odunze’s day on Friday will go a long way in determining his status for Sunday’s regular season opener. I don’t see a world in which Odunze ends up on the inactives list, but the Bears certainly could limit his snap count.
Last season, I was not a fan of the approach the Bears took with Odunze and his previous foot injury that is unrelated to the current one he’s dealing with. Odunze isn’t a guy that wants to miss time and while I respect that, you have to look out for the player and his best interests sometimes.
With Odunze’s injury last season, the Bears should have shut him down to heal long before they finally did in Week 14, especially with that kind of injury. Instead, Odunze kept pushing every single week to not only practice but play on Sunday, which is why I see Odunze still being active in this game.
But, the Bears have plenty of options now on offense to work with and not have to feel forced to put Odunze into a high role in terms of his snap count for this particular game.
“Right now, I don’t know when we line up in certain personnel groups who’s going to be our receivers,” Johnson said on Monday. “It’s early. By the time we get to Friday and Saturday, that’s when we’ll stamp them. They earn that during the course of the week.”
I’d rather see Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, and Jahdae Walker be more focal points in Week 1
Even if Odunze gets shut down on Sunday, the Bears still have some really talented pass catchers at the wide receiver position to work with. Luther Burden III is going to be a stud in his second season, Kalif Raymond is a veteran that has experience in this offense and built a strong rapport with Caleb Williams, Zavion Thomas brings an exciting speed element as a rookie, and Jahdae Walker is certainly not a player to overlook.
“There’s guys in the room that are prepped,” Raymond explained last week. “(WRs coach Antwaan Randle El) actually said ‘Hey man, there’s going to be moments and times where you guys have to step up.’ It’s one of those moments where we get to put what we preach into practice. Like hey, Rome just went down unexpectedly, you have to go to X, he’s down you have to go F. We’re just constantly rolling and you gotta get it right. You never know where you’re going to be at.”
If Odunze is sidelined, or at least limited, in this game, Walker is a player I’m watching to see how he steps up. He truthfully has been one of the most improved players on this offense from last year and a player Ben Johnson said can make a big play at any time to spark the entire sideline.
“Watching that infectious personality go and make plays, it gets everybody hype,” Raymond said of Walker. “He’s just one of those people from an energy-guy and a play-making ability, he’s a core guy.”
Ideally, Odunze is full go against the Panthers. But, if not, the Bears have the talent to absorb that loss in stride while still giving him the proper time he needs to fully heal and be ready for the long haul.
