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Through the first half of last season, Rome Odunze absolutely looked the part of a guy the Bears selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Over his first seven games, Odunze made 31 catches for 473 yards and five touchdowns. Bears fans were giddy. His fantasy owners were ecstatic. He was well on his way to stardom.

Then everything changed. Odunze suffered a stress fracture in his left foot sometime in October. He tried to tough his way through the November schedule, but he was clearly hampered. He was sidelined for all the regular season games in December and January before returning as a limited version of himself in the playoffs.

Odunze caught two passes in each playoff game and his grab from Caleb Williams on the 4th-and-8 “Jumpman” play will go down as one of the great grabs in team history.

But in a mirror of his season, Odunze dropped what looked like a surefire touchdown on the Bears' opening drive against the Rams in the NFC Divisional Round. The miss was a disappointing bookend to a year that started so promising and kept plenty of questions open as he heads into Year 3.

Not only is the health of Odunze’s left foot the biggest question surrounding his 2026 season, it’s also one of the biggest questions for the Bears.

Odunze passed on surgery and said the structure of his foot had changed as it healed, creating a painful callous. He further raised eyebrows by saying “this is my new normal” during offseason training.