Bears Make Final Call on Xavier Woods, Tyson Bagent 5 Others Before Opener

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The Bears announced final decisions on Rome Odunze, Xavier Woods and six other players ahead of their game against the Panthers.

After making the playoffs for the first time after a four-year absence last season, and winning the NFC North Division for the first time since 2018, the Chicago Bears look to build on that success starting Sunday when they meet the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

The Bears enter the 2026 season-opening road game as narrow favorites, but Chicago will be without seven players as they take the field in North Carolina. But one key player who was widely believed to be a question mark is “ready to rock,” the Bears announced.

Rome Odunze is starting Sunday’s regular-season opener at Carolina despite a lingering calf injury, and the Chicago Bears’ official inactive list confirms it.

That clears up the receiver spot, but a thin secondary and an emergency third quarterback show how many contingency plans the Bears built to get to kickoff against the Panthers.

Chicago Bears Clear Rome Odunze to Play

Safety Xavier Woods, listed as a starter on the Bears’ unofficial depth chart entering the week, is out with a groin injury he aggravated in Thursday’s practice.

As for Odunze, the Bears’ first-round 2024 draft pick out of Washington carried a questionable tag into game day after battling the calf issue through a full week of limited practices, a designation the wideout brushed off entirely.

“I doubt I’m questionable,” Odunze said, as quoted by Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I plan on playing.”

The team removed any remaining doubt Sunday morning, posting video of Odunze running routes on the field at Bank of America Stadium hours before kickoff, seen on the Bears’ social media channels.

The Bears elevated wide receiver Kaden Davis from the practice squad as insurance, a move announced alongside quarterback Miller Moss’ promotion, according to the Chicago Bears’ official transaction report.

Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, sidelined all week by a back injury, was listed as inactive, leaving Case Keenum as Caleb Williams‘ primary backup and Moss stashed on the inactive list as the emergency third arm, a move allowed under NFL rules.

Chicago Bears Face Secondary, Line Questions

Elijah Hicks and Skyler Thomas move up behind Dillon Thieneman, a shuffle landing on a secondary already missing Coby Bryant on injured reserve and Kyler Gordon on the physically unable to perform list.

Left tackle Ozzy Trapilo, still working back from the torn patellar tendon that ended his rookie season in January, remains inactive as expected, keeping Braxton Jones in the starting lineup. Interior backup Jordan McFadden and defensive linemen Jamree Kromah and Jayden Loving round out the inactive list as healthy scratches buried on Chicago’s depth chart.

Carolina enters shorthanded at outside linebacker after ruling out Patrick Jones II with a back injury, though running back Jonathon Brooks carries no such designation and is expected to play, according to the Panthers inactive report.

Chicago Bears Enter Panthers Game as Favorites

Oddsmakers and prognosticators clearly like Chicago’s chances in Charlotte. The Bears sit as three-point favorites with a moneyline hovering around -156 to -164, while the total rests near 46.5 points, according to RotoWire’s Bears-Panthers odds page. Dimers’ machine-learning model backs that lean further, projecting a 25-22 Bears win and installing Chicago with a 60.2 percent win probability, according to Dimers’ NFL game prediction model.

Not everyone in the industry is on board. The New York Post’s betting desk likes Carolina catching three points at home as a value play, even with the expert consensus tilted toward Chicago across most major outlets. The Bears beat the Panthers 36-10 the last time these teams met in 2024, a lopsided result nobody in Charlotte is eager to revisit.

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