Rome Odunze injury opens big door for this second-year Chicago Bears player

You never want to hear about injury news in the NFL, especially for a young player who is ascending like Rome Odunze. However, early reports are that the Chicago Bears got good news about Odunze's MCL injury. Still, good news means he will not miss the entire season, but rather, he may just miss a couple of weeks.

With that in mind, the Bears are going to need someone to step up in his place. By all accounts, that will be Tyler Scott. As much as this is unfortunate for Odunze, Scott went from being inactive and having no chance of seeing the field to likely seeing a starting role on Sunday.

Tyler Scott has to step up for the Chicago Bears if Rome Odunze misses time

Scott was inactive in week one because he did not have a special teams role. Both Velus Jones and DeAndre Carter were return men, so they had to be active as the fourth and fifth receivers. On the depth chart at wide receiver, Scott will be ahead of them. 

Shane Waldron wants to run an 11-personnel as his main grouping, so the likelihood that Scott gets a chance at being a primary player next week are high. 

Scott was awful last season, averaging just 0.68 yards per route run. His lack of production when given a chance is why the Bears felt they had to add so many big names to the room. Still, he was a rookie, and after playing on the outside throughout his entire college career, the Bears tried to move him into the slot during his rookie year. 

Odunze played outside on 56% of the snaps last year. Beyond that, Odunze played a role where he mostly was looking to stretch the field. That is the same role Scott played. The offense, the role, and the quarterback are better than last year. Scott should be better than last year. If he struggles here, the perception of him making it in the NFL will lower significantly.