The Chicago Bears are preparing to face their bitter rival, the Green Bay Packers, in the NFC Wild Card game on Saturday night. The teams split their season series, with the Bears pulling out a miraculous victory at Soldier Field in Week 16, 22-16. They pulled out that win without their budding star at wide receiver, Rome Odunze.
Odunze suffered a foot injury and has been out since late November. Before going down, the former Washington Husky led all Bears' pass catchers with 44 catches and 661 yards receiving.
Despite playing at home, the Bears were installed as 1.5-point underdogs against the Packers this week. If Chicago is going to pull off the upset, Odunze's presence may go a long way.
Odunze was listed as limited at practice on Wednesday. But if you saw him out there, you'd swear he's ready to roll. Odunze was seen dancing on the practice field.
Rome Odunze (foot) certainly looks like he’s all systems go for Saturday. pic.twitter.com/2SyDi1Rnhe
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) January 7, 2026
Bears' offensive coordinator Declan Doyle updated his status after practice, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin.
“You don't want to be giving him way too much, and yet, he's a guy that can help us … Anytime that he can be a part of it, certainly want to be able to use him and maximize the time that he's out in the field and get him the ball, but really it's the same with all of our players. We always have plays for each guy specifically, and you know, we're excited to have him back.”
Afterward, it the wide receiver's turn to address the media. Odunze made it very clear that he has every intention of playing on Saturday night.
“There might be some limitations, those are still to be discussed. For me, I’m looking to be out there as much as possible,” said Odunze.
“Make as many plays as I can. At the end of the day, it’s all or nothing for this game to make it to the Super Bowl until the end of the season. I want to contribute as much as possible and put everything that I have out there on the field. That’s my mentality.”
In his absence, rookie wideout Luther Burden III stepped up in a big way. He caught 21 of 26 targets during the four games Odunze missed in what has become a balance attack in Chicago.
The Bears boast one of the league's best rushing attacks. Burden and tight end Colston Loveland have improved as the season has progressed. Odunze and DJ Moore are threats on the outside. All told, the Bears may prove to be a difficult offense to slow down.
