The Chicago Bears have placed CB Kyler Gordon on Injured Reserve, officially shutting him down for the rest of the regular season.
The Chicago Bears placed cornerback Kyler Gordon on injured reserve Saturday, sidelining him for at least four games and officially ending his regular season.
The writing had been on the wall for Gordon for anyone paying close attention to recent comments from head coach Ben Johnson. Johnson has openly expressed disappointment with the lack of impact Gordon has made this season—frustration amplified by the fact that Gordon is the highest-paid slot cornerback in football.
Bears fans have felt it too. They've waited all season for their defense to get back to full strength. But it's now time to accept the reality that it's not going to happen—at least not in the regular season.
Gordon has battled a series of soft-tissue injuries that have repeatedly kept him off the field. Just as the Bears were expecting to get him back at a critical moment for a rivalry game in Green Bay, Gordon suffered a groin injury during pregame warmups and was unable to play.
That absence proved costly. C.J. Gardner-Johnson—who has been excellent since joining the Bears—was forced into several man-coverage situations that resulted in explosive plays for the Packers’ offense.
Some of that falls on defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and his scheme, something Allen has taken accountability for in the days following the game. But it doesn’t help when Gordon—arguably the Bears’ best defensive player—has been largely unavailable for most of the season. Man coverage just isn't Gardner-Johnson's strength.
Gordon also brings opportunity for creative pass rush schemes to a Bears defense that has not generated nearly enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks. He has only played in three games this season, but has a sack in one of those games
Placing Gordon on injured reserve now is a strategic move. With only four regular-season games remaining, sidelining him ahead of Bears-Browns makes him eligible to return for the Wild Card Round of the playoffs—if Chicago can get there.
Until then, it’s next man up. The same reality the Bears’ defense has faced all season.
More Nahshon Wright, and hopefully Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson are able to settle in a bit more as they work back from injuries of their own.
It won’t be an easy stretch to close the year. The Bears have Cleveland on Sunday, then another matchup with Green Bay followed by San Francisco and Detroit to close out the regular season. That's daunting and will require them to be at their best, but it’s probably good that Gordon doesn’t push himself back onto the field in cold temperatures that could aggravate lingering soft-tissue issues.