The Chicago Bears are likely to have their receiving corps at full strength against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15 after their latest update on Rome Odunze.
The Bears officially announced that Odunze — their No. 9 overall draft pick in 2024 — is questionable to play against the Browns in Week 15’s home game due to his foot injury, marking meaningful progress for their starter after he returned to practice this week.
Odunze did not participate in any practices last week and sat out Week 14’s road game against the Green Bay Packers due to a stress fracture in his foot, through which he had been playing in the early parts of the year, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Earlier in the week, Bears head coach Ben Johnson didn’t say much about whether he believed Odunze would play against the Browns, but he did say that he and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder) each took “a good step in the right direction” this week.
The Bears will not need to make a final decision on Odunze’s status against the Browns until roughly 90 minutes before kickoff, but his questionable status bodes well for him returning to the mix after missing his first career NFL game last week in Green Bay.
The Bears (9-4) will kick off against the Browns (3-10) at 1 p.m. ET on December 14.
Rome Odunze Looked Good in Practice for Browns
The Bears may still rule out Odunze for Week 15’s game against the Browns if they have concerns about the health of his foot, but he seemed to be moving well at December 12’s final practice of the week in the clips of his route-running that made it to social media.
Odunze’s return has seemed increasingly more likely throughout the week of practice. After missing all three sessions in Week 14, Odunze got right back on the practice field on December 10 as a limited participant and stayed that way for the rest of the week.
It probably helps, too, that Odunze has already played through some of the pain of his fracture, giving him a baseline for pain tolerance in terms of what his foot can endure.
Getting Odunze back would be huge for Chicago’s passing offense going up against a Browns defense that has allowed the fewest passing yards (165.2) in the league through the first 15 weeks. Even after missing last week’s loss to the Packers, Odunze leads the Bears in catches (44), receiving yards (661), total touchdowns (six) and targets (44).
Then again, the Bears might keep him on ice for another week. Odunze is one of their offense’s top playmakers, and while they won’t likely underestimate the lowly Browns, his presence will be more critical for their final three games — when the Bears will take on two division rivals and one playoff-contending NFC team to close out the season.
Bears Rule Out 2 vs. Browns as Injury Report Shrinks
The Bears did not have the luxury of clearing all of their players from the injury report after December 12’s final practice of the week. Neither cornerback Kyler Gordon — who injured his groin in last week’s pregame warmups — nor running back Travis Homer (ankle) will play when the Bears host the Browns for a chilly matchup in Chicago.
Outside of Odunze’s questionable status, though, everyone else is ready to roll.
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson is without an injury designation for a second straight week as he continues to work back from the groin injury that held him out for much of the season. Whether the Bears hold him to a snap count against the Browns remains to be seen, but he has now participated fully in 11 practices dating back to November 20.
The Bears will also have additional cornerback help in Week 15 with Stevenson cleared to play for the first time since November 23. He injured his shoulder in Week 12’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and missed the next two games while he recovered.
The only others listed on the Bears’ injury report are wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (hamstring) and rookie linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II (hip), whom the Bears cleared.
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