This offseason, Chicago Bears fans have asked many great questions and have had a lot of reason for optimism. But, the one question I have not seen asked too often is in regards to the health of wide receiver Rome Odunze.
In his latest column, Bears beat reporter Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune answered the question, and fans should be feeling even more optimism after hearing it:
"As far as I know, Odunze is fully healthy this offseason. Provided that’s the case when the season begins, it will be interesting to see how productive he is."
The Bears were without Odunze for the final five games of the regular season due to a foot/heel injury.
He did make his return for the playoffs but was not much of a factor, catching a total of four passes for 88 yards between two games against the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams.
Rome Odunze's good health will take the Bears' offense to the next level
Odunze started appearing on the injury report all the way back in Week 9 last season. He didn't start to miss time until after Week 13. That means he had been playing through the foot injury for five full games we know of, and maybe even before he showed up on the injury report.
Clearly, he hadn't been right for a while.
Fans might remember the way Odunze started last season on a tear. He caught a whopping five touchdown passes over the first four games of the year. In Week 8, he caught seven balls for 114 yards.
And then, in Week 9, he went without a reception. From there, it was downhill as Odunze began playing through pain.
As a whole, if you took Odunze's 17-game pace during a season where he played almost half of it injured, he would have wound up with about 940 yards and nine touchdown receptions. Just imagine, for a second, what he'd be able to do if he were healthy and with a full year of this offense under his belt.
At times, during the first half of the season, Odunze looked like a man possessed. Remember, too, that this was when Caleb Williams was still getting used to a brand-new, complex offense under Ben Johnson.
This was also before Luther Burden or Colston Loveland started seeing more field time. Odunze was blossoming into a star right before our eyes, and we hadn't even seen what Burden or Loveland could really do at that point.
Now, going into Year 2 of Johnson's offense, Williams is expected to take another step. That, in and of itself, is going to level up this Bears offense.
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But, you throw in the fact that this team gets to start the season with a healthy Odunze and a game plan featuring Burden and Loveland being heavily involved, and there is even more reason to get excited.
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