Chicago Bears WR Rome Odunze changes tune on permanent injury

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze didn’t have an optimistic outlook on his foot in June following an injury he sustained last season.

Odunze missed the final five games of the regular season and caught only four passes for 88 yards in the postseason.

“This is my new normal,” Odunze said. “And it’s not from a standpoint that I’m always in pain, but the way my foot broke, there’s callouses in there that create a different type of foot structure with those bones — different types of things that kind of shift things around.”

For obvious reasons, Odunze’s comments were worrisome. The No. 9 pick in the 2024 draft appeared to be quarterback Caleb Williams’ favorite target, as Odunze caught 101 passes for 734 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie season. He led the Bears in recovering with 661 yards and six touchdowns before suffering the foot injury.

On Thursday, Odunze appeared to walk his statement back from the spring, saying he doesn’t think about his foot anymore.

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“I know ‘new normal,’ that has a bunch of connotations of like chronic and severe, like, never going to be the same,” Odunze said, via Chris Emma of “The Score.” “It’s not like that at all. Like, I’m completely fine.”

If true, Odunze’s new health should be good for the Bears, who traded DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills in the offseason. For Odunze, he needs to play at his best this season before he becomes eligible for a contract extension after the end of the regular season.

Odunze has competition for the WR1 job this offseason. 2025 second-round pick Luther Burden III had a strong second half of the season and has a chance to become the clear No. 1 target at receiver for Williams. Though both Burden and Odunze will have to compete for targets with Colston Loveland, who led Chicago in receiving last year.

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