The Chicago Bears finish the Week 1 slate of games when they host the Minnesota Vikings. With the excitement through the roof to see how the team will open the 2025 campaign, the Bears may be without CB Kyler Gordon.
According to Jordan Schultz, Chicago added Gordon to the injury report with a hamstring injury and he's questionable for the opener.
Bears Put Kyler Gordon on Injury Report Ahead of Week 1
Gordon was dealing with that injury for the majority of August, but seemed ready to roll. He wasn't on the injury report until Sunday, indicating something had popped up. This isn't the start Chicago wanted to see after they gave Gordon a three-year, $40 million extension, which featured $31.25 million guaranteed this offseason.
That deal made him the highest-paid slot CB in the year, with a $13.3 million average annual value. Despite getting that deal, he may not be on the field to start the year and is dealing with a soft tissue injury that has been bothering him for weeks now.
Hamstring injuries need to be 100% healed. If not, they will linger, and that seems to have happened here. Popping up on the injury report a day before the game isn't ideal and is something that fans will be keeping a close eye on.
Gordon has missed at least two games in his first three seasons in the league. It's not like he's been injury-prone, but several things have kept him sidelined. That trend seems to be entering 2025, and the Bears can't be too thrilled with this development.
When you make a player the highest-paid at his position, you would love to see him out there for all 17 games, producing at a high level. Just last season, Gordon finished with career-highs in overall grade (76) and coverage grade (76), according to PFF.
He has been a player who has developed and gotten better for the Bears over three seasons. That's why Chicago felt comfortable giving him an extension, but they hope this injury is something that can be put on the back burner sooner rather than later.
If not, Nick McCloud will be thrust into the starting lineup and get more playing time than initially projected. And that's not what the Bears wanted.