Getty Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears will be down a cornerback for at least the next four weeks due to surgery.
Head coach Matt Eberflus announced on Friday, September 15, that Kyler Gordon underwent surgery on his broken hand the day prior and is headed for the injured reserve list (IR). The designation means that Gordon will miss at least the next four games as he recovers.
“We’re anticipating, if all things go well, he can be back after Washington,” Eberflus said, per the team’s official website. “We’ll keep him in our prayers and all that. We visited earlier and his teammates have been talking to him, and he’s in a good spot mentally right now with that.”
Bears Thin on Options for Nickel CB Job Following 2 Injuries
GettyCornerback Kyler Gordon of the Chicago Bears will miss at least the next four weeks following surgery on September 14, 2023, to repair a broken hand.
Gordon sustained the injury during the Bears’ Week-1 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. The loss of the second-year cornerback is meaningful to a young secondary that struggled against quarterback Jordan Love last weekend and now heads to Florida for its first road contest of the year against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rookie Tyrique Stevenson replaced Gordon as Chicago’s second starter on the outside this season, playing alongside CB1 Jaylon Johnson. Gordon slid into the nickel cornerback spot. The defense will now turn either to Josh Blackwell or Greg Stroman Jr. to fill that role in Gordon’s stead.
“When you have a guy like ‘Spidey’ (Gordon) go down, you know he’s a good player. We’re certainly going to miss him, but what you do is you try to do the best with your roster,” Eberflus said. “We’re going to see where it is, and [Blackwell and Stroman] have been with us, so they know the system. They know how to play and they’ve played in there before, so we feel good about it.”
Blackwell is doubtful for Sunday’s game in Tampa due to a hamstring injury, which makes Stroman the most likely candidate for the nickel CB job. Chicago elevated him from the practice squad on Thursday.
Bears Entering Stretch of Matchups Against Manageable Pass Attacks
GettyChicago Bears rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and the rest of the secondary have their work cut out for them over the next month.
The Bears will also be without Gordon for matchups against the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and Washington Commanders. The earliest he can return is Week 6 when Chicago hosts the division rival Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on October 15.
All things considered, this is one of the better four-week stretches for the Bears secondary to play thin. The Chiefs have one of the most fearsome passing attacks in the NFL, but the Broncos and QB Russell Wilson are still trying to find their offensive stride under new head coach Sean Payton. Denver lost its opening game of the season to the Las Vegas Raiders, mustering just 16 points in the effort.
The Commanders, meanwhile, continue to start second-year QB Sam Howell who produced a QBR of just 42.5 in a narrow 20-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals last weekend, arguably the worst team in all of football.
Mayfield was solid against the Vikings last week, though far from overwhelming, as he went 21-0f-34 for 173 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon.