The Chicago Bears are still not quite out of the woods with the injury concerns surrounding cornerback Kyler Gordon ahead of their 2026 training camp.
According to the team’s official transaction wire, the Bears placed Gordon — their primary slot cornerback — on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list in a series of roster moves on Saturday, July 25, after players began to report for camp.
Gordon sat out some of the Bears’ offseason workouts in the spring with a reported soft-tissue injury, putting him in a similar situation now to the one that he faced during their 2025 training camp: on the injury list and trying to get his body back to 100%.
Gordon also missed the majority of the 2025 regular season with a myriad of injuries, recording just seven tackles over three games due to hamstring, groin and calf issues.
While Gordon is eligible to return from the PUP list as soon as the Bears medically clear him from his soft-tissue injury, the fact that it is still bothering him more than a month after the conclusion of OTAs and veteran minicamp is troubling for his 2026 outlook.
The Bears’ remaining players will report for the start of camp on Tuesday, July 28.
Can Kyler Gordon Overcome Injury Issues in 2026?
Gordon still has some time to prove that his current injury won’t impact his availability for much of training camp. If the issue persists over the next month, though, the Bears might need to start asking hard questions about Gordon’s long-term future in Chicago.
Gordon has struggled with injuries throughout his entire tenure in Chicago. While his 14 games missed in 2025 were a career high, he also sat out at least two games in each of his first three seasons, including three games in 2022 and four games in 2023.
The Bears did not let Gordon’s injury history deter them when it came time to negotiate a new contract, though. When healthy, he had been one of the top slot defenders in the league, and the Bears rewarded him for it with a three-year, $40 million extension.
Unfortunately for Chicago, Gordon’s rough stretch of injuries gave the team immediate reason to feel buyer’s remorse. The Bears got just 119 snaps out of Gordon in 2025, and while the more expensive years on his contract hadn’t kicked in yet, his absences cast doubt on his health for future seasons — when his cap hits jump to about $13 million.
Now, Gordon can put those doubts to rest if he recovers quickly from his current issue and manages to stay healthy through most of camp and into the start of the new season.
On the chance that injuries cost Gordon games again in 2026, though, the Bears may need to think long and hard about his future before the third day of the 2027 league year on March 13 — when $10 million of his 2027 salary will become fully guaranteed.
Bears Also Place 5 Others on Injury Lists Before Camp
Gordon was the most notable player to land on an injury list in the Bears’ first wave of roster moves ahead of training camp, but five others also joined him on the injury lists.
According to the transaction wire, the Bears placed defensive tackle Shemar Turner, left tackle Ozzy Trapilo and linebackers Noah Sewell and Keyshaun Elliott on the PUP list. They also added veteran T.J. Edwards on the active/non-football injury (NFI) list.
Players on both injury lists are eligible to return without delay once the training staff medically clears them, but some won’t be back in the mix for some time now. Trapilo ruptured the patellar tendon in his knee in the Bears’ wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers on January 10, which means he will likely spend most of 2026 rehabilitating.
Sewell and Turner are also both still recovering from significant injuries suffered last season. Turner tore his ACL during Week 8’s game against the Baltimore Ravens in late October, while Turner ruptured his Achilles against San Francisco in late December. While Turner is likely closer to returning than Sewell, both may still need more time.
Bears Announce Troubling Update on $40 Million Star Before Camp