The Bears opened the 21-day practice window for Kyler Gordon this week, thus allowing themselves to prepare for his return to the field, as he's already missed eight games this season.
Combined with the pending return of Jaylon Johnson and the recent addition of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the Bears' secondary soon will be as healthy as it's been all season. With the schedule only getting tougher from here, the timing couldn't be better.
That said, Ryan Poles has to at least wonder if he should have invested more in the secondary before the season started. Opposing quarterbacks have been forcing that decimated unit to beat them all season, undoubtedly aware of what's been going on there.
Bears Should Have Added More Depth to Secondary in the Offseason
The result has been less than ideal. The 21 passing touchdowns the Bears have allowed are tied for the third most in the NFC and the most for any team in the NFC North. That doesn't sound like a team destined to be at the top of its division for very long.
Poles, likely banking on the impacts Johnson and Gordon figured to make, signed only two cornerbacks in free agency. Although Nick McCloud has been decent with 17 tackles and even making four starts, Shaun Wade ended up on injured reserve and was then released before the end of August.
It's a reminder that no unit can be taken for granted in the NFL. If you aren't careful, enough injuries will pile up to expose areas you didn't do enough to address. Gardner-Johnson was a great bandage to stick over this area, but it shouldn't have come to that to begin with.
The good news is that the Bears' secondary is improving as the season progresses. The bad news is we don't know how good this team will be once it's completely healthy. All fans can do now is hope for the best, which seems about typical.
Whether the Bears face Aaron Rodgers or not in Week 12, they still have to contend with Jalen Hurts, Jordan Love, and either Mac Jones or Brock Purdy afterwards. That's not even counting having to see Jared Goff a second time.
The Bears' season might very well be at the mercy of their secondary. It's hard to know what it's going to look like during any given game, and that's a scary thought, though not a completely surprising one if you've been a fan long enough.