Kyler Gordon‘s regular season is over. The Bears are placing the cornerback on injured reserve, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
This is the second IR stint of 2025 for Gordon, who’s dealing with a groin injury. A hamstring injury sidelined Gordon for the first four games of the season. Groin and calf issues then forced Gordon to IR for the first time on Oct. 25.
After establishing himself as one of the league’s premier nickel corners from 2022-24, Gordon signed a three-year, $40MM extension in April. Gordon missed nine games during his first three years in the league. He’ll add another 14 to the total this season. In three appearances, Gordon totaled seven tackles and a sack.
Despite minimal contributions from Gordon, the Bears are 9-4 and in possession of the last playoff in the NFC. The team has little room for error over the final four weeks of the season, though, and losing Gordon again is an unwelcome development. He missed the Bears’ loss to the NFC North rival Packers last Sunday after injuring himself in pregame warmups.
Fortunately for Chicago, it has a capable and battle-tested in-house replacement in veteran C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Since joining the Bears in late October, Gardner-Johnson has chipped in 33 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception in six games.
Along with announcing Gordon’s return to IR, the Bears elevated running back Brittain Brown and and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin from the practice squad ahead of their Week 15 matchup with Cleveland. Both players have now reached the maximum of three standard elevations this season. The Bears will have to sign either player to their active roster if they want to use them again.