What a 'new normal' means for Bears WR Rome Odunze and his healed foot
What Rome Odunze's 'new normal' means following his foot injury | The Offseason
This week on The Offseason, Cassie Carlson and The Athletic's Dan Wiederer recap the Bears final OTA practice. Caleb Williams was named the cover athlete of Madden 27 and Ben Johnson's reaction to it. Rome Odunze discusses how his foot healed following last year's foot injury, and Mayor Brandon Johnson offered a story about leaving the Bears-Packers game early, missing the historic comeback.
Rome Odunze turned plenty of heads on Wednesday.
He was asked if it felt normal running on his healed foot, where he's officially back healthy after suffering a foot fracture that led to him missing the final five games of the regular season. Normal now has a different meaning for Odunze.
He's learning how to play on his healed foot.
"This is my new normal," Odunze said. "My new normal is what I am growing into. I don't think that's anything that's going to prohibit me or keep me from making plays."
It was an alarming sentence to hear, but not shocking once Odunze began to explain what that actually meant.
"It's not from a standpoint that I'm always in pain," Odunze said. "But, the way my foot broke, there's a callus in there that creates a different type of foot structure with those bones and different things that shift things around."
This isn't the same as a long-term debilitating injury.
But, it's changed enough that Odunze needs to adjust the way he plays where he can be the most effective.
Big picture view:
In terms of podiatry, there are two types of calluses that can form according to the National Library of Medicine.
The first is a skin callus, which is usually the body's natural response to consistent friction or repeated pressure on specific parts of the foot. This usually occurs on the ball of the foot, on the heel or on the outer side of the big toe.
The second is a bone callus, which usually forms after a stress fracture occurs. The body naturally creates a bridge of bone cartilage that encircles the fracture and allows the fracture to heal.
When the body creates a bone callus, it eventually reshapes and smoothens out. The bone strengthens, but it still creates more mass than what was originally there before. For a wide receiver, where footwork is paramount for running routes and completing catches, this could affect a player's running patterns and gait.
Former Bears receiver Keenan Allen is an example of how physically noticeable football injuries can be, who has pronounced bumps on his shoulders from AC joint separations throughout his career. Odunze mentioned Allen by name.
"I feel like with the break, it's like when you tear your ACL it's never really back to normal," Odunze said. "Shoutout to Keenan with his (shoulder). It's a little different, but we go on."
Odunze's foot is healthy, but it still requires attention. He opted not to get surgery on his foot to avoid getting metal rods or different stabilizing hardware in his foot. Healing without surgery led to the callus that's affecting him now.
The work he does with his foot now and in the future will be significant, along with how he learns to play on his healed foot, which has a different feel to it now.
"I feel like if you break a bone, you’ve always got to make sure you’re on top of it.," Odunze said. "I continue to rehab on and make sure I'm keeping it strong and that's both feet. The different exercises that they give me and in the rehab as well that I do off the field. But I feel like yeah, you’ve got to stay on top of it regardless of if it's a hundred percent or not. I feel like it's hard to say it's a hundred percent. When it’s the Super Bowl and we raise that trophy, it'll be a hundred."
What's next:
It's important Odunze gets accustomed to his "new normal" because he's expected to be one of the focal points of the Bears' offense in 2026.
Even with five missed games, Odunze finished with 661 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 44 receptions. With DJ Moore now in Buffalo, the top spot in the receiver room is now open.
It's expected Odunze will lift into that spot.
"Now that DJ's gone, it's the collective group," Odunze said. "For me, I just want to be the best receiver possible for this team. I feel like I provide many assets to do that. I'm comfortable with a lot of the target share as well as the other guys getting involved, so we can be the best offense possible."
His presence has already stood out to head coach Ben Johnson.
Johnson put a premium on being available. He was asked about another skill player when he said "We know he is a good player when he is out there, but trust level's a huge thing for this team, for this coaching staff, for the locker room. You can only develop that trust by being available."
Odunze, as he works through his new normal, is present at voluntary workouts. He earned praise from Johnson, who labeled him as "tough" and specifically noted the effort he plays with when he's on the field.
"We're trying to get a little bit better every day and trying to get a good rapport with our quarterback, trying to get our system down," Johnson said. "He's out there competing and he looks pretty good right now."
The next step is for Odunze to be the top receiver for quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears are treating him as such, calling plays for him early and often in OTA practices this week.
The defense is starting to see the connection grow through OTAs and workouts, too.
"Rome's stepping into that role of ‘Rome’s down there somewhere,’" Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson said. "It is definitely going good. Caleb gives Rome the opportunity to make plays. I feel like their relationship is doing great."
That relationship could take the Bears to the next level.
Figuring out his new normal could lead to a breakout season. But, Odunze considers a breakout season to be more than numbers.
'It's everything. It's wins, it’s numbers, it's when we watch film in the meeting rooms, it's the pluses. It's all those different things," Odunze said. "I don't want to just to have a great individual season. I want to collectively be a tremendous wide receiver that has a tremendous impact with his team that gets wins week in and week out."