The Bears activated nickel corner Kyler Gordon from the physically unable to perform list on Saturday. He could make his season debut Sunday against the Falcons, per ESPN. Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper noted that General Manager Ryan Poles said in September that he didn't know whether Gordon would play for the Bears again. That makes his return to the lineup notable.
NFL Trade Rumors' Wyatt Grindley described the full set of moves as six. Chicago signed DB Nick McCloud to the active roster. The Bears placed DL Dayo Odeyingbo on injured reserve and released veteran DB Xavier Woods. They also elevated LB Buddy Johnson and RB Zavier Scott from the practice squad. The feed summary for that last item is cut off, so the practice-squad detail is our reading of the truncated text. Only NFL Trade Rumors lists the Woods release and the elevations. A Yahoo Sports item summarized the trade-off as help in the secondary at the cost of a defensive lineman.
The reporting doesn't say why Odeyingbo went on IR or how long he is expected to be out. Our data shows he has played all five games this season, with 9 tackles and 3 sacks. Woods appeared in four games, with 12 tackles. His release, together with McCloud's signing, changes the depth in the defensive backfield.
Gordon played only three games in 2025, with 7 tackles and a sack. In 2024 he played 15 games and made 75 tackles. The sources don't say what kept him on PUP, and they don't give a snap count for Sunday. ESPN's wording is that he "could" debut, so his workload is unconfirmed. McCloud's last stats in our data are from Miami in 2025, when he had 27 tackles.
The Bears are 3-2 and third in the NFC North. They have lost their last game, 31-7 at Green Bay on Oct. 11, after beating the Jets 23-12 and the Eagles 27-7. The secondary will meet an Atlanta offense that scored 45 at New Orleans on Oct. 5 and 30 against Baltimore last Sunday, though the Falcons lost that one. Atlanta is 2-3 and second in the NFC South.
Sun, Oct 18, 1:00 PM ET
Chicago visits Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 18. Whether Gordon plays, and how much, will be the first thing to watch.
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