Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles reveals a troubling disconnect regarding Kyler Gordon, casting doubt on his future in Chicago as a lingering injury stalls his return to play.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- When Ryan Poles walked into the PNC Center, it was clear something was off.
Maybe it was because the Chicago Bears' general manager had to say goodbye to a load of players on Sunday to trim down the roster to 53. Poles said it's really hard to have those exit meetings because those are players he cares about—players he saw fight to make the roster but fell short.
Or maybe Poles' energy was off because he knew what was about to happen.
When discussing players who were placed on the Reserve physically unable to perform list, Poles highlighted defensive lineman Shemar Turner and linebacker Noah Sewell. He said "they're close" and that he talked to both players in the morning, and "they're fired up to start that clock and get going."
Cornerback Kyler Gordon was also placed on that list, but his clock, well, it hasn't even come close to ticking.
“And then Kyler is on that list as well," Poles said. "We'll see when he comes back. I don't have a timetable. We'll see how that goes."
Those 25 words on Gordon were blood in the water for the line of questioning Poles would have to endure once his introductory statement finished.
When asked if he was convinced if Gordon would play for him, Poles said, "I don't know. I hope so. I still have hope there. He's going to have to continue to work hard and get back to playing football again."
If it wasn't clear in OTAs or training camp or now, there is a major disconnect between Gordon and the Bears' staff. Poles didn't get into the specifics, but he mentioned that with injuries, it's a "timing thing and healing thing and confidence thing."
At this point, it appears Gordon hasn't checked the box on any of those three critical categories. Poles said the Bears' cornerback is working with the Bears' training staff, but he's also has other people in his corner.
Poles could only be asked so many variations on a topic that he clearly wasn't going to dive into, but he did provide his assessment on how to deal with discomfort when the team assessed the injury.
"I think, listen, any time you have an injury -- and again I'm not going to get all into the details of this, I really, I wish I had more for you all -- but any time you have an injury and you're coming back from something there's discomfort that you have to push through and that's what it comes down to," Poles said. "So we haven't been able to get over that hump and we're not progressing as fast as we'd like. That's really all I have to say about that.
Bears head coach has made it clear how he views Gordon's situation, refraining to provide more than a couple of sentences about the topic anytime he has been asked about it. Johnson cares about players who are available, and that hasn't been the case for Gordon, who has played in just five games, including the playoffs, since he signed his 3-year, $40 million deal.
It's fair to question whether Gordon can salvage whatever trust is left between him, Poles and Johnson, even if he returns from injury. We'll see if that happens, but this situation has gone from bad to worse with just 12 days remaining before the Week 1 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.
