Kyler Gordon's OTA Absence Doesn't Bode Well For His Future in Chicago

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Kyler Gordon is hurt. Chicago Tribune reporter Brad Biggs says the 26-year-old will sit out the voluntary portion of OTAs with a soft tissue injury.

Is it the end of the world that a player is going to miss voluntary OTAs? No. Would it be a big deal if a player other than Kyler Gordon missed OTAs with an injury? Again, probably not.

It means quite a bit more for Gordon, though. Bears head coach Ben Johnson expressed frustration with the cornerback's injury luck earlier this offseason. He wasn't able to get a feel for Gordon and Jaylon Johnson due to the fact that they were both bitten hard by the injury bug last season. He was looking forward to strengthening their relationship going into 2026.

Unfortunately, Gordon seems to have stumbled out of the gates in that process once again with his newest (in a long line) of soft tissue injuries.

This type of injury is nothing new for Gordon

Kyler Gordon making a tackle — Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) makes a catch against Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon (6) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gordon is one of the most talented slot cornerbacks in the league when healthy. His quickness and stickiness in coverage are near-elite, and he's also got the requisite ball skills to match. Unfortunately, the best ability is availability, and that's virtually the only one that Gordon doesn't possess.

He's missed multiple games every year of his career and only played three games and 117 defensive snaps in the regular season last year. He looked like a shell of himself when he was out there, and it seemed like he was afraid to open up and find his top gear. It was by far the most disappointing season of his career.

While a concussion and broken hand were the reasons for his multi-game absences over his first two seasons, lingering soft tissue injuries have caused him to miss 16 games over the past two seasons. It's a bit odd to see him plagued by injuries in the pros, since that wasn't a glaring weakness of his game when he was coming out of Washington.

Kyler Gordon on the field — Jan 10, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon (6) breaks up a pass to Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (11) during the second half of an NFC Wild Card Round game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

On the bright side, it could be seen as a good thing that he's getting the yearly injuries out of the way. What better time for an NFL player to get hurt than smack dab in the middle of the offseason? Might as well get the injuries out of the way before the season starts!

I'm just kidding. It's all bad. It's entirely frustrating. Gordon is the league's highest-paid nickelback, and he's seemingly incapable of staying healthy. He's a great player when healthy, but it's fair to wonder whether it's worth keeping him around if the injuries are going to linger (which they definitely will).

His current contract is locked in through the 2028 season, but they would save just north of $8 million by cutting ties with him next offseason. Their cap savings will jump up to nearly $11 million by cutting him with one year remaining on his deal. That decision obviously won't be made in May, but it's tough to imagine the first 15 months of the Ben Johnson/Dennis Allen era going any worse for the star cover man. He's not going to win them over by sitting on the sidelines.

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This type of injury is nothing new for Gordon

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