Bear Digest

Rome Odunze's availability can't hurt Bears' sagging passing game

The Bears have their top receiver active despite a foot injury but the question they face is whether it will really matter for several reasons.
Gene Chamberlain|
Rome Odunze celebrates with teammates after a touchdown earlier this season.
Rome Odunze celebrates with teammates after a touchdown earlier this season. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Getting wide receiver Rome Odunze back on the field Sunday against Cleveland can only be a plus for the Bears' offense, provided he's healthy.

This doesn't necessarily mean they'll reap all the benefits because the game-time temperature and wind chill could make impactful passing all but impossible. And besides, the only thing colder than today's game-time temperature in recent weeks might be their passing game.

Odunze worked out on the field before Sunday's game and the Bears decided he'll be active, after missing last week's game in Green Bay.

Odunze has been playing through what has been reported as a stress fracture in his foot but needed to sit out a game for the first time in his career last week. He practiced on a limited basis all week and apparently it's not a problem. He was moving around well and doing sprints without a problem.

The Bears need Odunze's presence in the offense as their best deep target. Odunze has an average target depth of 13.9 yards, deepest of all Bears receivers according to Stathead/Pro Football Focus.

The Bears' passing attack has bogged down near the line in recent weeks. Caleb Williams hasn't gone over 6.8 yards per attempt in the last five games. His average for the five games is only 5.7 yards per attempt.

This has dropped Williams' yards per attempt on the year to 24th in the league at 6.7 on the year.

For the first eight games this season, Williams averaged a healthy 7.1 yards per attempt.

Obviously, without his top downfield target, the Bears had to compensate. Their running attack has made up for some of the deficiency.

Then again, the Bears had Odunze in the lineup for most of those games in the stretch of declining yards per attempt and it still didn't get them bigger gains. The connections need to be made and Williams simply hasn't been accurate enough.

Odunze made five touchdown catches in the first four games this season, but since then he has one TD reception. He has made more than three catches only once in the last five games, as fantasy football owners everywhere will probably be quick to point out

The Bears' inactives this week will be third quarterback Tyson Bagent, running back Travis Homer, defensive end Dominique Robinson, wide receiver Jahdae Walker, linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and defensive tackle Jonathan Ford.

Hyppolite (elbow) and Homer (ankle) are injured. Robinson had been injured but has been healthy enough to play the last two weeks.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.