The Chicago Bears have cornerback Kyler Gordon back on the practice field, but that does not mean he will be heavily involved in the team’s game plan right away.
Gordon’s designation to the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to begin the season means he is not even eligible for action against the New York Jets on Sunday, October 4.
The cornerback can return to the field against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5, though what kind of role he can/will play is going to depend on how quickly he can catch up to his teammates in terms of game-specific conditioning.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said as much during a press conference on Thursday, during which he also revealed that the team was aware of Gordon’s practice return timeline long before the news broke publicly.
“Dennis Allen said he found out a week or two ago that Kyler Gordon would be back in the building and ready to return to practice this week,” per a CHGO Bears report on social media. “DA said Gordon looked good yesterday, but the focus now is getting back into football shape.”
Kyler Gordon’s Return Provides Bears With Much-Needed Depth in Secondary
Gordon’s return should prove significant for the Bears, assuming that the $40 million cornerback can recapture his 2024 form. He missed all but three games last season due to soft-tissue injuries like the calf strain that will rob him of at least the first four contests of the current campaign.
Chicago will undoubtedly put Gordon back into his primary position as the team’s nickel cornerback, where he is the league’s highest-paid player, which probably means that rookie Malik Muhammad will move into a reserve role on the outside.
However, Muhammad has shown the capability to play inside as well, so he will be something of a swing defensive back who can play multiple positions as needed.
Tyrique Stevenson, the Bears’ second outside cornerback alongside Jaylon Johnson, is dealing with a hamstring injury he suffered against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. Stevenson played against the Eagles last Monday night, though Muhammad started in his place due to the injury.
Malik Muhammad May Replace Tyrique Stevenson as Bears’ 2nd Outside CB Permanently After Kyler Gordon Return
Muhammad has played 31 more defensive snaps (134) than Stevenson (103) through three games.
Chicago’s initial thinking when drafting Muhammad out of Texas in Round 4 back in April was that he might challenge Stevenson for the starting job as a rookie and could eventually take his place as the starter on the outside moving forward.
Stevenson is in the final year of his rookie contract and Chicago can potentially get similar, or even better, play from Muhammad on a rookie-scale deal for the next three years moving forward.
What Muhammad’s stellar play, Stevenson’s nagging muscle strain and Gordon’s imminent return combine to create now is a situation in which Muhammad might usurp Stevenson’s role on the outside permanently as soon as Gordon is fully healthy.
In the short term, it provides the Bears’ secondary with some much-needed depth, which might last throughout the year assuming relative health.
It could also provide the Bears a chance to rest Stevenson until he is healthy and then shop him ahead of the November 10 trade deadline, as starting Muhammad and waiting for a compensatory pick from the NFL for Stevenson — should he leave next offseason in free agency — may prove less lucrative from an asset-acquisition perspective.
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