Kyler Gordon will clearly be promised nothing when (if) he returns to Bears lineup

Months after the Chicago Bears made him the highest-paid slot cornerback in the NFL, Kyler Gordon missed 14 games last season. He remains on the PUP list with a big chunk of training camp and now one preseason game in the books, with a return date from a lingering calf injury still not known.

Whenever head coach Ben Johnson is asked about Gordon, he says it all by having so little to say. The most recent time came after the preseason opener, when, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin, Johnson called the timeline for Gordon''s return to practice "unknown."

General manager Ryan Poles had more to say about Gordon when he was asked, but the frustration was also easy to see. It's safe to assume Gordon is similarly frustrated by his lack of availability for the past year or so, with recent indications of a "delay" in his rehab for an unclear reason.

For what it's worth, Bears' defensive backs coach Al Harris made it clear Gordon is doing the work to get back on the field.

Bears reporter questions Kyler Gordon's slow return process

In his postgame thoughts after the Bears' preseason-opening win over the Cleveland Browns, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune devoted a solid amount of space to the situation with Gordon. It's hard to call out a player with an injury situation when setbacks happen, and control of the circumstances can be elusive, but Biggs pulled few punches with Gordon.

"At this point, it’s fair to question if Gordon’s commitment to getting back on the field has been at an appropriate level. That’s not exclusive to the last three weeks. It’s confounding that he was sidelined through the offseason program after missing 14 regular-season games last year (as well as the 2025 preseason), and yet he remains on PUP."

"Everyone in the building is tiptoeing around the subject. You have a better chance of getting straight answers about the stadium situation than about Gordon’s status these days."

Biggs may have information that helps produce his notion. Gordon may be falling short in his lack of commitment to get back on the field. As we've outlined, the Bears might be stuck with him through the 2027 season, depending on when his 2027 base salary becomes fully guaranteed (it either already is, or will be next March).

On a recent episode of the "Take The North" podcast with Dan Wiederer of The Athletic, Mark Grote of 104.3 The Score revealed he caught up with Gordon on the day of the Bears' preseason opener.

In light of the narrative that's been around Gordon, from the team's side to be entirely fair, Grote brought pertinent questions to the Bears' cornerback.

"I asked him, I said, 'are there things you would do wanna say'?" That you eventually will wanna say?", Grote said. "And he said, yes, there are some things he eventually will wanna say."

So Gordon has something to say, and he's apparently going to say it eventually. If it's along the insunuated line, contradicting what's been out there about his glacially slow recovery process, that will surely go over well with the top two people in the football operation at Halas Hall.

Read more: 35 snaps is all Kaden Davis needed to decide his roster fate with the Bears

The Bears are stuck with Gordon from a financial perspective this year, and maybe next. But they don't have to promise him anything, including his starting job, when he is able to suit up. The way things are going, they should not, and they won't.

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