Rome Odunze Status News Playing Chicago Bears News
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The Chicago Bears plan to have starting wide receiver Rome Odunze available when they take the field in Carolina to kick off their 2026 NFL season.
According to ESPN’s Ian Rapoport, Odunze will expectedly play against the Panthers in Sunday’s season opener after the Bears limited him all week in practice with a calf injury and listed him as questionable on their final injury report for Week 1’s matchup.
“#Bears WR Rome Odunze, questionable with a calf injury, is expected to go today against the Panthers, source said,” Rapoport wrote early Sunday morning on X.
Odunze strained his right calf in practice on September 3 and worked as a limited participant in all three of Week 1’s practices, but the Bears have expressed optimism about his opening-day status throughout the week.
“Our plan was to get him to practice yesterday and today, and we’ll assess where he’s at after that,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said before Friday’s practice. “He’s looked good from my perspective, but we’ve also got a long season coming up on us, and we want to do what’s right for him for the long term as well.”
Odunze also left little room for doubt after Friday’s practice.
“I plan on playing,” Odunze said.
The Bears will kick off against the Panthers at 1 p.m. ET today.
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