The more you listen to top Chicago Bears beat writers and others close to the organization, the easier it becomes to recognize that something is off between the team and cornerback Kyler Gordon. Sports Mockery’s own connections have mentioned that team brass are frustrated with him. They feel his ongoing absence is less about him actually being hurt and more about getting bad advice from people in his camp. Nobody is more over it by now than head coach Ben Johnson. Every time Gordon’s name comes up, his answers become terse.
It is obvious to anybody with common sense that he is unsympathetic to the cornerback’s problems. After all, he sees other players on the roster with much more serious injuries fighting to get back on the field. Just look at Darnell Wright. He recently aggravated an arm injury from last season. One that has required a protective brace. The right tackle didn’t even miss time. Ozzy Trapilo literally tore his patellar tendon in January. He’s already back practicing. Johnson sent a not-so-subtle message to Gordon in his latest comments on that.
“It’s not just Darnell. He’s a great example of it, but we have almost the entire roster fighting their tails off to get back out on the field. They do not like missing time. They want to be out there competing. They want to be out there with their teammates, and to me, that’s the sign that we’re moving in the right direction. And I get a lot of positive vibes from that. So it’s good.”
Even if Kyler Gordon wasn’t an intentional target, that comment hurts.
He missed 14 games last season with various soft tissue injuries. Now he’s missed all of training camp and the preseason. There is a growing likelihood he won’t play in the opener next month. A calf injury should not keep a player out this long. If it were that bad, he’d have had surgery and been placed on Injured Reserve, not the PUP list. Johnson refuses to coddle players who aren’t battling to help the team win. That doesn’t mean he demands they play injured, but there are certain limits to how much grace you should give guys.
After all, the Bears endured this same nonsense with Nate Davis. The former guard kept missing games and practices due to all sorts of minor injuries. It didn’t take long to recognize that his commitment was lukewarm at best. The guy didn’t care enough to fight harder to play. That is why the Bears cut him so quickly and probably why he hasn’t been on a team since the end of 2024. Some guys who get their money seem to lose interest in playing anymore. Has that happened with Kyler Gordon? Some are starting to wonder.
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This entire situation sucks.
What hurts so much is that Gordon is a good player. When he’s on the field, he makes the Bears’ defense more effective. It’d be one thing if he were just a bad player like Davis was. Seeing good players spiral down the drain like this is hard to watch. Gordon should be contending for Pro Bowls every year. He has that kind of ability. The sad truth is your talent matters little if you can’t stay on the field. Bears fans aren’t sure how much of it is due to real health problems and how much is a sagging desire to play at this point.
We’ll probably know after the preseason finale. If Gordon still hasn’t surfaced by then, it’s safe to say he won’t play week one and may not play at all. Johnson’s stance on him is hardening by the day. He doesn’t care how good the cornerback may or may not be. He won’t reward players by keeping their spots reserved for them. He never saw the Gordon that earned the lucrative contract extension. All Johnson has seen is the guy who pretty much never plays.
