In his second season with the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Rome Odunze took some leaps in becoming the team’s top receiving target, but he also left plenty of room to grow and improve.
Having missed five games due to a stress fracture in his foot right before the playoffs, Odunze showed a bit of rust at times, especially in the playoffs where he could be reliable but wasn’t consistent enough for a top target.
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Following the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional playoffs, Odunze has received some criticism for missing a block late in the fourth quarter and a few dropped passes, which lingered throughout the season. When meeting with the media on Monday as they cleared out their lockers to end the season, Odunze gave a very honest assessment on his performance in his sophomore campaign.
“It was definitely disappointing,” Odunze, said via CHGO. “I feel like I had a great offseason, great training camp coming into the season, and feel like I started off hot, being the player for this team I needed to be. With some of those things it felt like it was a hiccup, at the end of the day we all play with different injuries and different things that we go through. I’ve got to step through and proceed to be a catalyst to this team’s success and I don’t feel like I did that well enough this season. At the end of the day, it’s going back to the drawing board and looking at some things I can change so I can be the player I need to be for this team.”
Getting Odunze back into a pivotal role next season could allow the front office to make other moves, opening up opportunities for the former first-round pick, as well as Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland next season. Taking accountability is a big step for Odunze, and there’s no denying that his presence could help take the team’s offense to the next level in the 2026 season.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears WR Rome Odunze gets honest about struggles in 2025
