Rolling into the postseason, the Chicago Bears were hoping to have two of their injured stars, cornerback Kyler Gordon and wide receiver Rome Odunze, back on the field for the Wild Card matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Gordon has had two different trips to the IR this season as he works through his groin core muscle injury. Odunze has missed the last month due to a foot injury and hasn't played since the Black Friday game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
While speaking with the media, Bears head coach Ben Johnson was asked about the progress of Gordon and Odunze. Johnson seems optimistic that both will play, as Odunze has already been confirmed to play after the final injury report.
"He (Gordon) looked good yesterday," Johnson said via ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "We'll see what it looks like again today, both him and Rome, you know. It's good to have them both back out there. They're excited. They're moving around well, and we'll see if they can help us out this weekend."
Bears will be near full strength for the first time in awhile
The only question is whether Gordon will play, as he was listed as questionable on the final injury report. He might have to play with C.J. Gardner-Johnson, his replacement in the slot, out for the game with a concussion.
If Gordon does play and get hurt again, the Bears can at least be comfortable with the depth being there after his backups, Nick McCloud and Jaylon Jones, were also on the injury report. McCloud and Jones were cleared and good to play.
Odunze returning just gives Chicago another weapon, as Caleb Williams has been distributing the ball to basically everyone. This season, Odunze, Colston Loveland, DJ Moore, and Luther Burden III all got at least 600 yards receiving for the year.
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Chicago is getting Odunze and Gordon at the right time and will need both guys to step up in a big way against a very good Packers team. The Bears look to be at full strength at the time of year when they need to be in pursuit of a Super Bowl.