Kyler Gordon is undergoing surgery for a broken hand.
Coach Matt Eberflus disclosed on Friday that Bears nickel back Kyler Gordon had surgery on Thursday to heal a fractured hand suffered in last Sunday’s season-opening defeat to the Packers.
The 2022 second-round pick will sit out a minimum of four games before returning to action against the Vikings on Sunday, Oct. 15 at Soldier Field. Gordon will miss games against the Buccaneers, Chiefs, Broncos, and Commanders.
“If everything goes well, we expect him to be back after Washington,” said coach Matt Eberflus. “We’ll keep him in our thoughts and prayers and all that.” We went earlier, and his teammates were talking to him, and he’s in a good mental place right now.”
Josh Blackwell, a second-year player who entered last weekend’s season opener when Gordon was injured, is out for Sunday’s game in Tampa due to a hamstring ailment that held him out of practice on Thursday and Friday. Blackwell was first listed as questionable, but was upgraded Saturday afternoon.
Who will play nickel back for the Bears in Tampa is unknown.
“When you have a guy like ‘Spidey’ (Gordon) go down, you know he’s a good player,” he remarked. “We’re going to miss him a lot.” But what you do is try to make the best of your roster. We’ll bring in [ Greg Stroman Jr. and Blackwell] to see where it is, and those guys have been with us before, so they know the system. They know how to play and have played in there before, so we’re confident.”
Blackwell is the lone Bears player listed as injured for Sunday’s game. Dylan Cole practiced fully on Thursday and Friday after being limited on Wednesday owing to a hamstring problem.
Cornerback Carlton Davis (toe), defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (calf), and linebacker SirVocea Dennis (hamstring) are all out for the Buccaneers, while safety Christian Izien (concussion) is questionable after practicing fully on Friday.
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Kevin White Injury: The Latest on the Bears’ Wide Receiver’s Recovery from Leg Surgery
Kevin White, a rookie wide receiver with the Chicago Bears, missed the 2015-16 regular season due to injury, but he is expected to be ready for the 2016 summer.
“I’m OK. “I’m going to get stronger, regain my quickness, and just train hard like I’ve always done,” White stated, according to ESPNChicago.com’s Jeff Dickerson. More from White was shared by Dickerson:
“I want to come into organized team activities [Phase 3 of the offseason program] healthy, and I think that’s the most important thing for us, especially with Marquess Wilson, Alshon Jeffery, Zach Miller, and Eddie Royal banged up.” We just want to have fun while staying healthy.”
“It was an excellent learning experience,” White added. “You know, seeing how this organization handles things, staying in the older guys’ ears — Jay Cutler and Eddie Royal, and a couple other guys.” So it was a learning experience for me, but I’m ready for next year.”
Injury Delays White’s Rookie Season
White’s injury problems began during training camp, when he was placed on the physically unable to perform list due to a shin injury. Although returning off the PUP list took some time, general manager Ryan Pace minimized the seriousness of the injury, according to Dickerson.
“Kevin has a shin injury that we told him to stay off of the last month,” he stated. “So it’s more for us to say, hey, he’s been inactive.” In terms of his cardio, we want to have a ramp-up period. So we’ll start him on PUP to help him increase his cardiovascular endurance.”
The 23-year-old wideout eventually needed shin surgery, which kept him on the reserve list for the entire 2015 season until today.
As the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 draft, the Bears had a lot riding on White, so their cautious approach was reasonable.
This season, Chicago has battled with wide receiver depth, as both Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal have been injured at separate occasions.
The former West Virginia star has a chance to be a major NFL player if he can stay healthy, and allowing him to sit out and return in 2016 was ultimately the wisest decision.
