The Chicago Bears may have lost more than their season opener against the Green Bay Packers.
Bears starting cornerback Kyler Gordon was injured in the team’s 38-20 loss, and insider Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune says the Bears fear the second-year corner broke his hand.
Gordon was ruled out of the game after injuring his hand in the third quarter while blitzing Packers quarterback Jordan Love. Chicago’s second-year corner was seen after the game with his injured hand heavily wrapped.
“I think with Gordon, the fear there is that the right hand is broken,” Biggs said in a September 12 appearance on 670 The Score’s Mully & Haugh Show. “So, you’ve got to determine: Is this a situation where medically they have to do something right away? Will he miss some time? Can he play with a modified club on there? If so, does he need to take a little time off before they go that route? I think they’re trying to sort through all those things.”
Losing Kyler Gordon Would Be Huge Loss for Bears Defense
While Gordon struggled as a rookie last year, he did show solid improvement as the season went on, and all reports were positive about him coming out of camp this year. The 23-year-old CB played 27 snaps against the Packers, allowing one catch on two targets for 16 yards (77.1 passer rating when targeted). He also had a memorable pass breakup early in the game.
On third-and-2 with just over 7:30 to go in the first quarter, Gordon had a nice PBU on wide receiver Jayden Reed that highlighted his playmaking abilities:
What a sweet, SWEET breakup by Kyler Gordon. He’s got agility that doesn’t make sense.
This is a nasty route by Packers’ WR Jayden Reed — watch him head fake & drop his hips on this comeback route. Should be complete, but Kyler keeps up and knocks the ball away.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus will likely confirm whether Gordon broke his hand when he speaks with the media on September 13, but it’s not looking good for Gordon, who was starting to flourish at the nickel position.
If his hand is broken, the typical recovery time is 6-8 weeks, according to Carolina Hand & Sports Medicine.
CB Josh Blackwell Is Next Man Up for Bears
We will know more about Kyler Gordon’s injury on Wednesday. But I’d expect him to miss some games coming up here.
Josh Blackwell got nickel reps with Gordon out.
With Gordon likely missing at least a few weeks, the Bears will turn to second-year undrafted free agent Josh Blackwell, who went in to replace Gordon in the slot after the injury.
Biggs noted Blackwell and potentially Jaylon Jones, a 2022 undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss, will fill in for Gordon while he’s out.
Blackwell, another 2022 UDFA, has been an effective special teams player, and he has also filled in capably when called upon. He played 59% of Chicago’s special teams snaps and 13% of the team’s defensive snaps last year, finishing with 23 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Bears starting corner Jaylon Johnson was asked why he has confidence in Blackwell, and his answer was telling.
“I’ll say what gives me confidence is I’ve seen him do it. I mean, shoot, he played against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers last year and he did a really good job,” Johnson said, via Nicholas Moreano of CHGO Sports. “He’s definitely been out there in the fire, he’s been thrown out there. He knows what it looks like, he knows how it feels to be out there in a real game playing against some real competition. So, I’m looking forward to him going out there, learning that chemistry with ones and then playing ball.”
Hopefully, Gordon won’t be out for long, but at least Chicago has a few young players who can gain some invaluable experience in his absence.
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Bears Fear Starting Defender Suffered Significant Injury: Report