Chicago Bears activate CB Kyler Gordon, who hasn’t played since January due to calf injury

The Chicago Bears activated cornerback Kyler Gordon off the physically unable to perform list Saturday. Gordon will be on the 53-man roster for Sunday’s matchup with the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Gordon has not played since appearing in both playoff games in January. He was sidelined throughout much of the offseason program and all of training camp by a calf injury.

In a corresponding move, the Bears placed defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo on injured reserve. Odeyingbo injured his quadriceps in last week’s road loss to the Green Bay Packers and must now miss at least four games. The Bears also signed cornerback Nick McCloud to the active roster off the practice squad and released safety Xavier Woods.

Gordon was on the PUP list throughout camp and remained there once the season began. The Bears opened his 21-day practice window Sept. 30, and he has been back on the practice field since then.

“He’s done a great job taking everything that we’ve assigned him so far,” coach Ben Johnson said Friday. “I do, I feel good about him — whether that’s this week or next week — I do feel good about him being able to contribute to this team and help us out, and there’s a number of ways he can do that. But I’m encouraged with what I’ve seen so far.”

Gordon briefly spent time away from the team after training camp, working with his own trainers outside Halas Hall.

Gordon hasn’t spoken with members of the media since returning to practice. Citing team policy, the team said he would not be available to speak until after he was added to the 53-man roster.

“It’s been good to have him (at practice),” Bears nickel coach Cannon Matthews said. “From my standpoint, he looks good. Just still working on getting his conditioning right, football shape. Just going through that aspect, but he looks good and we’re just going to keep going day by day.”

The conditioning is a real concern. Defensive end Shemar Turner is also making a return off the PUP list this week after tearing the ACL in his left knee last season. It’s likely neither Turner nor Gordon will play a full load Sunday as both ease their way back into form.

The Bears activated linebacker Noah Sewell off PUP last week and limited him to 22 snaps in his return. Sewell was coming off a torn Achilles.

“So with all of these guys that may be coming off (PUP), all of them would have a limited role to start with,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said.

Without Gordon in the lineup for the first five games, rookie Malik Muhammad II and veteran Cam Lewis have filled in at Gordon’s typical spot as the nickel corner in the slot.

The nickel could play an outsized role in this week’s game because the Falcons like to get running back Bijan Robinson on the outside. Robinson runs between the tackles at one of the lowest rates in the NFL. This will be a test for all 11 defenders, not just the defensive line, and the slot defender is going to be a major part of that effort.

“We’re going to need our little guys this week to show up for us,” Johnson said. “That’s the hard part when you get a dynamic running game like this, and then also they’ve got these weapons on the outside too, it’s hard to defend all of it. And so we’re going to need our guys to play really their best game on defense yet this year to keep these guys contained.”

When the Bears hired Johnson and Allen, Gordon was the first player Allen mentioned when asked with whom he was excited to work. Allen sees Gordon as a versatile defensive back who can play all over the field.

The Bears signed Gordon to a three-year, $40 million contract extension prior to the 2025 season, before he had played a game for Johnson and his coaching staff.

But Allen’s vision never materialized in 2025 because Gordon missed all but three regular-season games with various soft-tissue injuries. He did return in time for the postseason and proved to be a difference maker in the playoffs.

Gordon broke up two passes in the wild-card win over the Packers, and he totaled seven tackles and a sack in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams a week later.