The 2025 season was a nightmare for Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon, who only ended up playing in three games due to a soft tissue core injury that affected him most of the year.
The expectation was that Gordon would come back 100% healthy for the 2026 season and be ready to go. The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs is telling a very different, but all too familiar, story about Gordon's update going into OTAs.
"Kyler Gordon has a soft-tissue injury and Jaylon Johnson is absent from the Chicago Bears voluntary offseason program with three weeks remaining until a summer break," Biggs said.
Kyler Gordon is still hurt despite having all offseason to heal
This is now becoming a real concern for Chicago Bears fans: they may not have Gordon for OTAs and minicamp, as he is still dealing with a soft-tissue injury. It was a source of frustration for Bears head coach Ben Johnson last season, and it appears it's going to remain that: frustrating.
If Gordon cannot go, it leaves the team in an interesting pickle at nickel. Bears rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad and veteran Terell Smith could find themselves in a position battle during the summer to go into the slot. Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson should still be on the outside, but the Bears might have to come up with a backup plan for Gordon.
While it may be too early to start thinking this, Bears fans can't help but start thinking if it was the right choice to let C.J. Gardner-Johnson or Nahshon Wright walk in free agency with the lingering injury issues they are having at cornerback. Zah Frazier was waived by the team earlier in the month, so depth is a bit of a concern at the moment.
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The hope is that Gordon will be able to recover, but if this is still a problem, optimism is starting to fade in Chicago.