The Chicago Bears have made a definitive roster decision with nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, one that only adds more frustrations to the overall situation and more uncertainty about his availability this upcoming season.

The Bears have moved Gordon from the active/PUP list to the reserve PUP/list. By doing so, Gordon does not count against the 53-man roster and is not allowed to practice or play for the first four weeks of the regular season.

What the reserve/PUP list means for Kyler Gordon going into the regular season

Gordon is allowed to attend team meetings and use team facilities for rehab, but he is not allowed to practice or play for four weeks. After four weeks, a 21-day window opens up, where Gordon can practice and be activated. If he is not activated in those 21 days, Gordon must be placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

This was the expected move for the Bears to make from a roster standpoint and it puts the ball in Gordon’s court to continue rehabbing if he wants to play this upcoming season.

Head coach Ben Johnson made an interesting point this past week when talking about injured players and how he views them going into the season.

“All I care about is, ‘Does it help us win or not?’” Johnson said. “That’s really what I’m all about. We can talk about injuries up here. The guys that aren’t out there, they’re not helping us win right now.”

He also spoke about players that have been working to return to action saying “we have almost the entire roster fighting their tails off to get back out on the field.” That word “almost” was loud and many took it as an indirect dig at Gordon and his rehab process.

Chicago Bears are preparing to be without Kyler Gordon, perhaps for good

Everything about this Kyler Gordon situation has been weird and it’s clear we don’t know all of the behind the scenes details. The root of the matter is, the Bears are preparing to be without Gordon, perhaps for good.

Now, Gordon isn’t going anywhere in 2026. There’s no way the Bears can move on from that contract until after the season, but at this point it’s worth questioning whether or not we even see Gordon play for the Bears again.

The Bears have already been getting multiple replacements integrated into the nickel position between rookie Malik Muhammad II, veteran Cam Lewis, and recently traded defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. for cornerback Clark Phillips III, who played nickel back in college and very well could again in this scheme.

It’s an all around frustrating situation, especially because Gordon can be an impactful player when he’s on the field.

“I think Kyler is one of the best nickels in the game; I really do,” LB T.J. Edwards said. “I think when he is on the field, he changes the game, and, you know, his ability to blitz, his ability to stop the run, his ability to cover when needed, play the pass, he does it all, right. I know he’s working his butt off, and I talk to him every single day. Man, he’s just itching to get out there, so we’ll be ready when he gets back. We know who he is when he is on the field.”

The problem is, the best ability is availability and Gordon hasn’t been able to provide that over the last calendar year. Time is really starting to tick and if he wants to stay in Chicago, he’s got a little over four weeks to get healthy and back at practice.