Bears Open CB Kyler Gordon’s Practice Window

Kyler Gordon is returning to practice Wednesday, The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Battling injuries during most of the time since his 2025 extension, Gordon is battling a nagging calf issue that kept him out of training camp and the preseason. This return designation, however, marks the first sign a return is near for the veteran slot cornerback.

Although players stashed on the reserve/PUP list are still not eligible to play until Week 5, teams can bring them back to practice as early as Week 3. The Bears did that with linebacker Noah Sewell and defensive lineman Shemar Turner last week. The 21-day window still applies to players whose windows have opened early. Gordon must be activated by October 20; otherwise, he cannot play this season. The Bears opening his window now certainly indicates confidence a return is close.

Given a three-year, $40MM deal that still tops the market for pure slot corners, Gordon has played in five games since signing that contract. Hamstring, calf and groin issues plagued Gordon in 2025, and more calf trouble intervened this year. Ryan Poles called the 2026 issue a “repetitive situation,” given that Gordon experienced calf trouble last year. Soon after, Ben Johnson did not establish a timeline for the fifth-year player, who was transferred to the reserve/PUP list.

An ominous update occurred from Johnson before the season, when the corner’s availability for any part of the campaign became a question. Today’s practice return, then, brings a welcome update for a player who had shown improvement — hence the big-ticket (for slot CBs, at least) extension — prior to the spate of injuries.

Gordon’s contract includes a $10MM guarantee for 2027. The Bears would eat $15MM in dead money were they to cut the former second-rounder next year, and the team will hope for the best involving a suddenly injury-prone cover man. Chicago has used fourth-round rookie Malik Muhammad regularly in the slot during Gordon’s absence, but he made his first start in Week 3 as the team benched outside CB Tyrique Stevenson. A future in which the Bears deploy a Gordon-Muhammad-Jaylon Johnson trio could emerge soon, but the team will need to see a good stretch of Gordon games to feel remotely comfortable in his big-picture status considering all that has happened since the extension.