🔥 HOT NEWS: A discouraging injury update from Ben Johnson suggests his receiving corps is in far worse shape than hoped ⚡. DH
Nothing said by Bears coach Ben Johnson Monday about the injuries to two receiver provided much hope they’ll be able to face the Green Bay Packers Saturday night in an NFC North showdown for first place.
In fact, in Rome Odunze’s case it sounded more bleak than ever in terms of getting him back from a foot fracture and on the field any time soon.
“All options are on the table,” Johnson said. “We’re ing to do what’s best for Rome first and foremost. I know he wants to be out there helping.
“It’s hard to tell him no sometimes. He just wants to be out on the field competing and keep contributing and helping our team win. There may be a case where we’ve got to protect him from himself a little bit just to make sure we get him right and he’ll be able to help us down the road.”
There isn’t much road left. If they put Odunze on injured reserve, he’d be out into the playoffs now. Just keeping him inactive might be the better choice because then he’d be available if he has a faster recovery. However, the injury he has is one that could take offseason rehab and rest to finally get past.
With Luther Burden and the ankle injury suffered in Sunday’s game, Johnson described it as the type of injury that could mean about anything from a gametime decision to a game or two missed.
“His ankle is something we’re working through and talking about,” Johnson said. “We’ll see how this week goes in terms of whether we will have him available for Saturday night or not, but it’s more of a day-by-day type of deal with him.”
In the meantime, they have alternatives even if this takes away two of their speedier target.
Chief among them is tight end Colston Loveland, who made four catches for 63 yards against Cleveland.
“I can feel the trust continuing to build between our quarterback and Colston each and every week,” Johnson said
Loveland has 39 receptions for 498 yards and four TDs. His catch percentage per target on the year is a relatively high 72.2. The connection with Williams has blossomed and when Loveland gets targeted Williams owns a 125.4 passer rating per Stathead/Pro Football Reference.
DJ Moore resurfaced as a top-level threat on Sunday with his two TD catches and four receptions for 69 yards, his highest yardage effort since the Bears beat Cincinnati on Nov. 2.
They also have players like Jahdae Walker and Devin Duvernay available at receiver.
One thing Johnson thinks helps in this situation is how the receivers were trained at multiple positions in the offseason.
“Yeah, I think that’s the right way to do it. And we’re still far from mastering it all as an entire offense still,” Johnson said. “And so when things go the way they’ve gone and guys go down and the next guy has to step up, yeah, the big-picture view goes a long way.
“Caleb and I were just talking about that. We never want robots out there, guys that are just running the line that’s on the picture. We need guys that understand what the intent of the play is, so that when we get something we’re not anticipating, we’re able to make it right.
And so I think we’re working through that. I think the guys are learning more and more each week. The more reps we get, the better off we are.
But certainly when new guys get called upon, the work that they put into it, both spring time, camp, up through the season up to this point, it all adds up, and so we shouldn’t miss a beat if another guy’s number’s called.”
One positive they did have was linebacker Tremaine Edmunds being designated to return from IR. He has missed four games after putting himself in the picture for a Pro Bowl Games berth.
