Chicago Bears open nickel corner Kyler Gordon’s 21-day practice window to return from the PUP list

The Chicago Bears opened the 21-day return-to-practice window for nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon on Wednesday, making him eligible to return from the reserve/physically unable to perform list as soon as the Week 5 road game against the Green Bay Packers.

Gordon has been sidelined by a calf injury since the spring and opened the season on the PUP list, which requires missing at least the first four games. The Bears play the Packers on Oct. 11 at Lambeau Field.

A decision will be due — whether to activate Gordon or place him on season-ending injured reserve — just before the Bears’ Week 7 “Thursday Night Football” game against the New England Patriots on Oct. 22 at Soldier Field.

Gordon’s absence has been a source of curiosity and tension. Ben Johnson’s blunt two-word message when the Bears opened training camp underscored precisely how irksome the situation had become.

“Get healthy,” Johnson said July 28, the reporting day for veterans and the day the team placed Gordon on the PUP list with the lingering injury.

On Sept. 1, general manager Ryan Poles said he had little information about Gordon’s progress and admitted, “I don’t know,” when asked if Gordon would play for the Bears this year.

“I hope so,” Poles said then. “I still have hope there.”

Gordon had been rehabilitating away from the team and popped up on social media with videos of him working out.

The Bears have rotated players at nickel corner, including Cam Lewis and rookie Malik Muhammad II, as they’ve dealt with not only Gordon’s absence, but also injuries to other members of the secondary.

On Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, Muhammad manned an outside corner spot opposite Jaylon Johnson with Tyrique Stevenson dealing with a hamstring injury, and Lewis was in the slot. But Lewis suffered a hip injury late in the game, and Muhammad moved back to nickel while Stevenson entered for four snaps on the outside.

“He was a little bit limited over the course of the week,” Ben Johnson said of Stevenson, “so we felt good going into that game with starting Malik on the outside and having Cam play more of the nickel role.

“Each week is a little bit different. I was really pleased — and honestly we were a little surprised — with how quickly Tyrique came back from the injury. So that was a good thing.”

Gordon’s return would be a significant step for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s secondary, but the next phase will be revealing: Can Gordon stay on the field?

That has been the major problem for him. He missed 14 regular-season games last year, though he played in both playoff games. He missed nine games over the previous three seasons.

The Bears will have a plan to bring Gordon along slowly in hopes of avoiding what would be another setback in a 12-month series of them.

Gordon, whom the Bears made the highest-paid nickel cornerback in the NFL in April 2025, originally was injured in the first week of August last year. He wound up playing in only three regular-season games and had two stints on injured reserve with calf, groin and hamstring injuries before returning for the two playoff games.

Then Gordon missed nearly all of the offseason program, elevating the level of aggravation in the building.

“He was here all offseason training, getting right,” Poles said on reporting day. “We had a delay in that. All hands on deck to get him back. (Johnson) alluded to it before in terms of his availability or the lack thereof.

“Obviously he’s frustrated. We’re frustrated. We just want him back. He helps our football team. We have to move forward with the guys we have, and when he’s ready to go, he’ll be ready to go.”

The Bears opened practice windows last week for defensive end Shemar Turner (knee) and linebacker Noah Sewell (Achilles) to return from the PUP list.