Bear Digest

Rome Odunze Confident He's Not Risking Too Much if He Plays

Rome Odunze will give his sprained knee a pregame test to see if he's able to play after the Bears declared him questionable.

Gene Chamberlain

Rome Odunze hauls in a catch during drill work in Bears training camp. He's planning to test his injured knee Sunday in pregame.
Rome Odunze hauls in a catch during drill work in Bears training camp. He's planning to test his injured knee Sunday in pregame. / David Banks-Imagn Images
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It's easy to wonder if the Bears are rushing things when their explosive rookie receiver is talking about playing less than a week after he suffered a knee sprain.

Yet, wide receiver Rome Odunze thinks the chance exists he could play against Houston and so does coach Matt Eberflus. Odunze thinks he would not be risking a more serious injury by doing it, either, after being declared questionable for Sunday's game. He went through a limited practice Friday, his first of the week.

"No. That's definitely not my concern," Odunze said. "I think that was my first initial question, if I was at any risk for that to happen. And talking to the doctors, I think the opinions that I've gotten, that's not their opinion of it.

"Of course there's some soreness and some pain in there with a sprain that it is. But no, if there was any risk of anything further then I wouldn't be out there."

The extra time between Friday and Sunday night might even be the difference in letting Odunze get on the field one week after he made his debut with one 11-yard reception.

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"I think today was kind of my first initial test to really see, to answer that question and I think tomorrow will be a good measure of recovery and how my knee feels in that moment," Odunze said. "So that'll be the telling sign. But I want to be out there on that field any way possible. So I'm gonna try and make that happen."

Odunze suffered the knee sprain blocking late in the fourth quarter during the 24-17 win over Tennessee.

It's a question now of being able to gut out the pain.

"I think it's just like any injury in the fact that it's a pain level, pain tolerance thing," he said. "I think when you've answered the question whether it's structurally sound and whether or not you're at risk of further injuring it, I think that's the number one question you need to answer.

"Then after that, it's can you be yourself out there? Can you play through the pain? What's the soreness going to be like the next day? Are you going to be able to weather through that? For me, it's just that pain tolerance at this point and being able to work through what I can work through."

It will be the proverbial game-time decision before he can know.

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Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.