Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze may have spooked the fan base with his recent comments about the “new normal” after his 2025 foot injury, but head coach Ben Johnson seems to have little doubt about his long-term status.
Odunze suffered a stress fracture in his left foot in late October last season, initially playing through the injury before the Bears shut him down for the final five games of the regular season. He returned to the lineup in the playoffs, starting in both games.
While most fans thought Odunze had put the injury behind him, the 24-year-old wide receiver admitted last week at OTAs that he is still feeling the ramifications of the break in his now-healed left foot and learning to live with his “new normal” as a pass-catcher.
That’s “nothing new” to Johnson, though. To his trained eye, Odunze has looked like the “same old Rome” to him out on the practice field throughout their spring workouts.
“Nothing new to me,” Johnson said June 10 when asked about Odunze’s comments. “He’s out there, he says he feels great. He looks good to me. We go back and forth with the coaching staff, and he looks like the same old Rome, so I think we’re in good shape.”
Rome Odunze Says Foot Will Never Be ‘Back to Normal’
Johnson’s evaluation of Odunze’s spring activities is reassuring, but it is easy to see why the receiver’s comments on June 3 might have caused panic among the Chicago faithful.
“This is my new normal,” Odunze told reporters about his stress fracture on his 24th birthday on June 3. “And it’s not from a standpoint that I’m always in pain, but the way my foot broke, there’s callouses in there that, like, create a different type of foot structure with those bones — different types of things that kind of shift things around.
“So my new normal was kind of what I am going into. And I don’t think that’s anything that’s going to prohibit me from making plays. But I feel like with the break, it’s just like when you tear your AC (joint), it’s never really back to normal.”
Odunze’s foot may never feel totally normal again, but the Bears are hopeful that he can still bring the same playmaking ability to the table. He got off to a rocking start in 2025, catching five touchdowns in his first four games and emerging as their leading receiver, but he seemed slower out of his breaks after his foot injury and dealt with drop issues.
Time will tell whether Odunze’s “new normal” holds him back or keeps him moving.
Luther Burden III Could Emerge as Bears’ New WR1
Odunze had essentially locked down the No. 1 receiver role in the Bears’ offense before his stress fracture derailed him in 2025. With DJ Moore now in Buffalo, he has a good chance to slip right back into the lineup as quarterback Caleb Williams’ favorite target.
If Odunze’s foot limits him at all, though, Luther Burden III could surpass him in 2026.
Burden didn’t have a big role early in his rookie season with the Bears, but he became an integral part of their passing game by December. He received at least six targets in six of his final seven games as a rookie (including both playoff contests) and finished the year with 47 receptions for 652 yards, catching an impressive 73.8% of his targets.
Burden also finished just one yard shy of tying Emeka Egbuka for the most yards after catch (334) among rookie wide receivers in 2025 despite having 16 fewer receptions, accentuating his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands at all levels of the field.
The Bears won’t care much which receiver leads the way if both Odunze and Burden produce at high levels, but don’t be surprised if Burden continues his momentum from the end of his rookie season into 2026 and winds up on top with a breakout campaign.
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