The NFL season is nearing its end. As happens every year, injuries are rearing their ugly heads. As fantasy football managers prepare to set Week 15 lineups, it’s important to stay informed on the latest injury news. Rome Odunze was limited at practice this week due to injury. What is his current status and outlook for this week?
Is Rome Odunze Playing Week 15?
Update: Odunze is ACTIVE
Odunze played in the Week 13 contest against Philadelphia and had not missed a game until Week 14. The second-year receiver suited up for all 12 of the Chicago Bears’ first 12 games, providing consistency for the team’s passing attack.
After Odunze did not practice on Wednesday last week, NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that the Bears receiver has been playing with a stress fracture in his foot. The injury has been an issue for a significant part of the season. Odunze first appeared on the injury report due to his heel issue in the week preceding the Bears’ game against Cincinnati.
This week presents a strange situation for Odunze and fantasy managers alike. The talented receiver returned to practice on Wednesday as a limited participant after sitting out the entire previous week. Odunze remained limited at practice all three days this week. The Bears listed him as questionable on their final injury report heading into Sunday’s home matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
The stress fracture has no chance of being fully healed after just one week of rest. Stress fractures in the foot typically require several weeks to months for complete healing, depending on severity. However, it is possible the week off helped Odunze get to a point where he can more effectively play through the injury.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson did not provide much clarity on whether he believed Odunze would play against the Browns. Johnson did note that Odunze and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson each took a good step in the right direction this week. The fact that Odunze has already played through some of the pain of his fracture earlier in the season gives him a baseline for pain tolerance in terms of what his foot can endure.
Odunze’s failure to progress to full participation at any point during the week could set up a true gametime decision ahead of the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday. The Bears will make a final determination on his availability approximately 90 minutes before kickoff. Fantasy managers rostering Odunze should have a backup plan ready in case he cannot suit up.
On Saturday, Jeremy Fowler reported that the Bears expect Odunze to play.
Odunze’s Fantasy Football Outlook
Heel and ankle injuries had Odunze on injury reports with regularity since October, but he missed the first game of his NFL career on Sunday with “rest for a stress fracture in his foot” being cited as the reason.
While that’s certainly not great.
The belief is that he returns sooner than later and every game holds value to the Bears, though it is plenty reasonable to raise an eyebrow at this situation for a receiver that has caught just seven of 21 targets over his past three games.
You drafted Odunze as your WR3 or WR4 this summer with the thought being that he could, with time, take work off the plate and DJ Moore, and peak at the right time. That you might have to lose the initial fight, but that you’d be in a good position to win the war.
MORE: Free Fantasy Football Start/Sit Optimizer
You were right about Odunze being more talented than the industry gave him credit for, but man, you were wrong about the run-out.
He scored five times in September and was threatening weekly top 10s as we flipped the calendar to October. Since, however, it’s been unsteady to say the least … exactly the inverse of what you expected.
He’s scored just one touchdown since that opening burst and has turned 21 targets into just 102 yards (seven catches) over the past three weeks. Is this a receiver we should consider benching until he rediscovers his early-season form?
As it turns out, it depends on what you think of the matchup of the lines.
Chicago has allowed pressure on under 32% of dropbacks six times and over 32% six times this season.
Rome Odunze Splits
Low-pressure games: 18.5 PPR PPG, 27.8% target share, 5.0 catches
High-pressure games: 5.8 PPR PPG, 19.2% target share, 2.3 catches
This means that a bet on Odunze is effectively one against Myles Garrett.
You can do that if you’d like, but I’m not. Say what you will about the Browns as an organization, but they’ve rode #95 to a top-5 pressure rating all season long and posted a cartoonish 62.5% pressure rate in Week 10 against the Jets. I’m not projecting a repeat there, but anything in that stratosphere, based on the trends developed this season, but Chicago’s WR1 in trouble.
The 49ers (Week 17) are the only below-average pressure defense left on the Bears’ schedule: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the trends fit the recent trajectory when it comes to Odunze.
— Kyle Soppe, PFSN Fantasy Analyst
