Bears receiver Rome Odunze returned to practice Friday for the first time since Dec. 12.
When he plays his next game is anybody’s guess. While Odunze is technically questionable for Sunday’s game against the Lions, the receiver demurred when asked whether he was targeting a return next week for the first round of the playoffs.
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” he said Friday. “The target has moved on some occasions. So just looking forward to playing as soon as possible.”
Bears coach Ben Johnson has said the team’s plan is for Odunze to return at some point, be it the playoffs or regular season. It would be surprising, though, if he was given the go-ahead to play Sunday after one practice.
Odunze has been dealing with “a couple different” chronic issues with his feet this season. He last played a game in Philadelphia on Nov. 28. He tried to return to face the Browns on Dec. 14 — he was put on the game day roster but felt pain during warmups and was shut down. That rollercoaster, he said, has been the biggest challenge in trying to return.
“There’s been some up-and-down weeks with what I’ve been dealing with,” said Odunze, who trails DJ Moore for the team receiving yards lead by just 10 yards despite playing only 12 games. “Just kinda going through those things. Obviously not playing on Sundays is tough when I have the passion for the game that I do. But … I coat those things with my support for the guys. Just going out there and watching them, seeing them make plays on the sideline, it’s hard for me to contain my excitement in those moments.”
Surgery is not an option. The best treatment, he said, is rest.
“All different things that I can do for it, I think I’ve been exhausting those efforts,” he said. “But yeah, time and time off is really the biggest thing.”