How Concerned Should We Be About Rome Odunze's Foot?

By Jared Smola | Updated on Thu, Jun 4 2026 1:06 PM UTC

Bears WR Rome Odunze was hampered by a left foot injury for much of the 2025 season, ultimately missing the final five regular-season games. He returned for the playoffs and didn't have surgery this offseason. But Odunze admitted on Wednesday that the foot might never get back to where it was pre-injury. “This is my new normal,” Odunze said. “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, creates a different type of foot structure with those bones. Different types of things that kind of shift things around."

What They're Saying

More from Odunze on his foot: “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 it’s never really back to normal. ... I feel like if you break a bone you’ve always got to make sure you’re on top of it. I continue to do rehab on it, making sure I’m keeping it strong. ... But I feel like yeah you‘ve got to stay on top of it regardless of it’s 100 (percent) or not. I feel like it’s hard to say it’s like 100, I feel like when we’re in the Super Bowl and win that I feel like it will be 100.”

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

I spoke to Doctor of Physical Therapy (and my brother) Tyler Smola about Odunze's situation. He said it's tough to predict what kind of impact the lingering foot issue will have on Odunze's production, but that it definitely increases his injury risk going forward.

It's worth noting that Odunze has been participating in OTAs, and we haven't heard anything to suggest that he's looked limited.

We'll keep a close eye on his status when training camp opens in late July.

Rankings Movement

We're not adjusting Odunze's baseline projection, but we docked his floor projection a tad. That moves him from WR27 to WR28 in the PPR rankings.

Other Winners & Losers

Any limited or missed time for Odunze would be good news for WR Luther Burden and TE Colston Loveland. This already projects as a very concentrated passing game. Odunze's absence would only push more targets in Burden and Loveland's direction.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.