LAKE FOREST, Ill., — For the first four games of the 2025 season, it looked like Rome Odunze was taking that big sophomore jump for the Chicago Bears. He had five touchdowns through those four games, but finished with just one more the rest of the season.
Odunze was bothered by a foot injury he suffered in the Week 9 win over Cincinnati, playing through it before re-aggravating it against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13. From there, he missed the rest of the regular season, but he just wasn't the same. The injury clearly bothered Odunze as he had just four total receptions for 44 yards in two playoff games.
"It was tough. I was gearing up for a great season. I felt like I was on track to have that," Odunze said on Thursday. "Injuries are part of the game, and unfortunately, I feel like it affected me more than injuries have in the past. But it's part of the game, and it's things that you work through, and you go through that adversity, and you're better for it."
Now, going into year three, Odunze could be feeling the impact of that injury again. Odunze said that surgery was a question this offseason, but he decided to move forward without doing that. Instead, he relied on resting it and rehabbing at Halas Hall throughout the offseason.
However, this is a new normal for Odunze after the injury.
"This is my new normal.It's not from a standpoint that I'm like always in pain, but the way my foot broke, there are calluses in there that creates a different type of foot structure with those bones — different things that kind of shifts things around," Odunze said. "So my new normal was kind of what I am going into. And I don't think that's anything that's going to prohibit me or keep me from making plays."
That quote might cause some alarms to go off in Bears fans' minds for now. Hearing a 'new normal' doesn't sound great, but it's something that Odunze is going to have to deal with and manage throughout the regular season.
With the Bears trading DJ Moore, Odunze's role will increase this offseason. It's something he's ready for and the hope is that he can stay healthy and make an impact.
"For me, I just want to be the best receiver possible for this team," Odunze said. "I feel like I provide many assets to do that, and I'm comfortable with a lot of the target share, as well as the other guys getting involved so we can be the best offense possible."
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