In his second season with the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Rome Odunze has made some leaps toward becoming the team’s top receiving target, but he’s also left plenty of room to grow and improve.
Odunze missed five games before the playoffs with a stress fracture in his foot, and he looked a little rusty at times, especially in the postseason. He could be reliable, but he wasn’t consistent enough for top targets.
advertise
After the team’s divisional playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Odunze received some criticism for a missed block and several pass breakups late in the fourth quarter, criticism that lingered throughout the season. Odunze gave a brutally honest assessment of his sophomore season while meeting with the media on Monday as he cleared out his locker to wrap up the season.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” Odunze said via CHGO. “I felt like I had a great offseason and a great training camp going into the season, and I felt like I was hot right out of the gate and became the player I needed to be for this team. There were some things that felt like a little hiccup and we all ended up with different injuries and different things that we’ve been through. Playing with things. I have to step up and continue to be a catalyst for the success of this team, but I feel like I haven’t done that well enough this season. It’s about going back to the drawing board and seeing what I can change so that I can be the player that this team needs.”
Putting Odunze back in a key role next season could allow the front office to make other moves, opening up opportunities for former first-round picks next season as well as Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland. Taking responsibility is a big step for Odunze, and there’s no denying that his presence could help the team’s offense take the next level in the 2026 season.
Follow Bears Wire on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears WR Rome Odunze gets honest about struggles in 2025