The Chicago Bears could have their secondary at near full strength against the Las Vegas Raiders after the latest injury update on cornerback Kyler Gordon.
According to the team’s injury report, Gordon returned to practice on Friday for the first time since September 5’s final walkthrough for Week 1’s season opener. He has missed the first three games of the 2025 regular season with a hamstring injury.
More encouragingly, the Bears designated Gordon as “questionable” to play against the Raiders on Sunday, giving him a chance to make his 2025 season debut for the team.
The Bears have missed Gordon, their top nickel cornerback, over the first three weeks of the season. While Nick McCloud has tried to fill his shoes, Chicago has allowed the sixth-most passing yards (247.7 yards per game) in the league heading into Week 4.
It has not helped that All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson has also missed all but 20 defensive snaps for the Bears, suffering an injury in Week 2’s second game that forced the team to place him on injured reserve with a possible late-season return date.
The Bears will likely work out Gordon in Sunday’s pregame to make their final decision on his playing status, but his “questionable” designation is a step in the right direction.
Could Kyler Gordon Play Outside Against Raiders?
The Bears are a better defense when Gordon is available for their secondary. But, with Johnson out of the mix for the foreseeable future, it is worth wondering whether they will consider moving Gordon onto the perimeter to improve their pass-game leakage.
Gordon played on the outside some as a rookie, but he thrived once the Bears moved him into a full-time role in the slot during his second season in 2023. Since then, he has developed into one of the league’s top nickel defenders and signed a three-year, $40 million contract extension that makes him the highest-paid slot cornerback in the NFL.
That said, Gordon is the Bears’ next-best cornerback behind Johnson. If they feel that Tyrique Stevenson and Nahshon Wright are not giving them enough on the outside, then perhaps they would be willing to experiment with Gordon beyond his usual role.
Stevenson did have a bounce-back performance against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, but Wright has allowed 10 receptions and a 123.7 passer rating in coverage this year.
Bears Have 2 More Injuries to Monitor Before Kickoff
Beyond Gordon, the Bears must also decide the statuses of two more injured players before they kick off against the Raiders at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 28.
The Bears also ruled first-round rookie tight end Colston Loveland (hip) and veteran running back D’Andre Swift (hip) questionable to play against the Raiders on Sunday.
Loveland missed the first two practices of the week after his hip injury knocked him out early in Week 3’s win over the Cowboys, but he returned as a limited participant for Friday’s walkthrough for the Raiders, seemingly helping his chances of playing.
Meanwhile, Swift was limited throughout the entire week in practice, but he also spent last week limited (with a different injury) and still managed to play for the Bears.
The Bears also ruled out the following starters on their final injury report: linebacker T.J. Edwards, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and right tackle Darnell Wright.
