Bears Wide Receiver Rome Odunze Shares Details About His Foot Injury

Rome Odunze was well on his way to having a breakout season in Year 2. 

The Chicago Bears' wide receiver had five touchdown receptions through the first four weeks and was clearly Caleb Williams' favorite target. Odunze was even aiming to break Randy Moss' single-season record of 23 touchdown catches. 

But that all fell through because of a stress fracture he sustained in his foot in late October. 

“It was tough," Odunze told reporters on Wednesday. "I was gearing up for a great season. I felt like I was on track to have that. Injuries are part of the game and unfortunately, I feel like it affected me more than injuries have in the past. That wasn't obviously the goal. I have my goals for the season and that injury kind of prohibited some of those things. But it's part of the game and it's things that you work through and you go through that adversity and you're better for it.”

Odunze finished his sophomore season with 44 receptions, 661 yards and six touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound receiver also had some costly drops throughout the season, finishing with five (third-most on the team). 

When Odunze was asked if his foot played a factor in those drops, the former No. 9 overall pick out of Washington didn't want to completely blame the injury for those mishaps.

“I think there was definitely a little bit of that," Odunze said. "I was rehabbing the foot. I've never had an injury like that before that was kind of prohibiting me in that way. I'm the type of person at the same time that doesn’t want to provide those excuses for myself at the end of the day. If the ball is not caught, the ball is not caught regardless of if I'm running on one foot or whatever it is. That's my standard and that's my expectation and I didn't do it well enough.”

Although Odunze took the noble route about his injury impacting his play, it was still an injury clearly effected the Bears' wide receiver. After Odunze caught seven passes for 114 yards against the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 26, he finished the 2025 regular season with just 13 catches, 188 yards and one touchdown in five games, including zero receptions against the Bengals. 

Odunze mentioned that with a broken bone, "you've always go to make sure you're on top of it," and doing so with the proper exercises and rehab. The 24-year-old receiver had to also take time to talk with the Bears' training staff and his own team to ensure everyone was on the same page. 

“This is my new normal," Odunze said. "It's not from a standpoint that I'm always in pain. But the way my foot broke, there's a callous in there that creates a different type of foot structure with those bones and different things that shift things around. My new normal is what I am growing into. I don't think that's anything that's going to prohibit me or keep me from making plays. But I feel like with the break, it's like when you tear your ACL it's never really back to normal. Shout out to Keenan (Allen) with his (shoulder). It's a little different, but we go on.”

Mason West, a clinic director/physical therapist at Ignite Physical Therapy and Sports Performance in Chicago, shared his expert analysis on Odunze's recent comments and "new normal."

As Odunze said, he doesn't think his injury will prohibit him from making plays. With DJ Moore no longer a part of the Bears' offense, Odunze understands the opportunity that is in front of him this season. 

“I think it's the room as a collective," Odunze said. "When I came in it was (WR) Keenan (Allen) and DJ, it was the collective. When I came in and Keenan left and (WR) Luther (Burden III) came in, it was DJ three of us, it was the collective. Now that DJ's gone, it's the collective group. For me, I just want to be the best receiver possible for this team. I feel like I provide many assets to do that. I'm comfortable with a lot of the target share as well as the other guys getting involved, so we can be the best offense possible.”