Bear Digest

What Kyler Gordon's return to Bears means for recent breakout player

While Kyler Gordon has been sidelined with an injury, one Chicago Bear stepped up in a big way to fill his shoes.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

The NFL has a reputation as a 'next man up' kind of league. Given the sheer violence inherent in the sport, injuries to starters are considered a part of the game, and when a player goes down, it opens a door of opportunity for another. Look at Rico Dowdle, who seized the starting running back job in Carolina after Chuba Hubbard, who was and still is playing well, missed just two games.

The Chicago Bears got bit by the injury bug hard to start the season, especially on defense, and they're still feeling those effects. Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson has missed nearly the entire season so far, as has linebacker T.J. Edwards, but it looks like they're finally getting healthy. Johnson had his 21-day window opened last week, setting the Bears' defense up for huge reinforcements in the secondary. Now, nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who signed a market-setting contract extension in April, has been designated to return.

Where does Kyler Gordon fit in the Bears' new-look defense?

Getting Johnson and Gordon back is fantastic news for Chicago and its fans. They're both near the top of the league at their respective positions, and their absence has been acutely felt all season. Chicago's defense has been abysmal in nearly every facet except takeaways. Case in point, 40-year-old Joe Flacco had arguably the best game of his long career when throwing against Chicago's depleted secondary.

However, one player has stepped up in a big way to fill the shoes of a starter, and that is recent free agent signing C.J. Gardner-Johnson. He's played the role of the slot, or nickel, cornerback in Gordon's absence, and has done a bang-up job. In just three games with the Bears, he's recorded three sacks and locked down his portion of the field. What then can the Bears do with the veteran once Gordon is cleared to play?

C.J. Gardner-Johnso
David Banks-Imagn Images

Moving Gardner-Johnson to safety and letting Gordon reclaim his role might seem like the obvious thing to do, but the Bears are still doing pretty well in the safety department. Besides, Gardner-Johnson has made it known in the past that he prefers playing as the nickel cornerback, and that role seems to suit him. Could Dennis Allen send him to the bench? That would also make sense, but could leave the veteran unhappy and erode the locker room chemistry.

Luckily for Allen, he still has time to decide how he's going to allocate his players. Gordon likely won't play on Sunday or the week after that. In that interim, Gardner-Johnson may have a couple of bad games, thus making the decision to bench him or move him around more justifiable.

No matter what happens, Bears fans should trust Allen and head coach Ben Johnson to get it right. After all, having too many talented players is a good kind of problem to have.

Kyler Gordo
Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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