Rome Odunze ‘felt good’ in return to practice but unsure if he’ll face Texans originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze was lucky to escape Week 1 without a serious injury after he had his knee rolled up on in the Bears’ 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Odunze was diagnosed with a Grade 1 MCL sprain of his right knee. He did not practice Wednesday or Thursday but returned Friday as a limited participant. The Bears listed Odunze as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. Odunze will work out pre-game to determine if he will be able to play, but Friday’s test was an important first step.
“Felt good,” Odunze said Friday. “Just trying to get back to being myself out there, and that’s the only product I want to put out on the field, so today was a little bit of a test of that, and it felt good, so we’ll see what happens moving forward.”
The No. 9 overall pick said how he feels Saturday will be a “good measure” of his recovery with how his knee feels. Odunze noted the structure of his knee is good, and he isn’t concerned about the injury getting worse. Pain tolerance will be Odunze’s main hurdle.
“I want to be out there on that field any way possible,” Odunze said. “So I’m gonna try and make that happen.”
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears want to see “movement and acceleration” from Odunze during Sunday’s workout to clear him to play.
The Washington product will only take the field if he feels he can be himself while tolerating the MCL sprain. Friday, Rome felt like Rome.
“I felt pretty solid. I felt pretty solid,” Odunze said when asked if he felt like himself in his return to practice. “Of course, I was being a little precautionary just because, again, knee injury. But I felt good. I really did. Just getting back into the flow of things, catching up to speed with [quarterback Caleb Williams] and the offense.”
Odunze isn’t the only Bears receiver whose status is in question for Sunday night’s tilt with the Texans.
Veteran wideout Keenan Allen did not practice all week due to a heel injury. Allen did not practice all week as the Bears gave him time to rest and heal.
The Bears will also test out Allen before Sunday’s game to determine his status.
If Odunze and/or Allen can’t go Sunday, the Bears will rely on Tyler Scott, DeAndre Carter, and Velus Jones Jr. to slot in behind star receiver DJ Moore. The Bears could also elevate Collin Johnson or Samori Toure from the practice squad.
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