LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears felt that Kyler Gordon was ready to take off after a pristine training camp in which the second-year slot corner was undoubtedly one of the Bears' best players.
But Gordon's launch was postponed after he suffered a broken hand during the Bears' Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Soldier Field.
After a short, four-week stay on injured reserve, the Bears designated Gordon to return Monday but the Washington product will have to check a few boxes this week for the Bears to activate him ahead of Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.
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"I mean there are a couple of things you've got to evaluate," head coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday at Halas Hall. "First of all, it's the conditioning level. We'll see where he is there. And then we've got to look at his movement. His movement should be good. But really just with his conditioning and then with the use of the hand. How is he going to use that hand? How does he feel good in terms of his position? At that position, you have to take on blocks, you have to take on stalk blocks, you have to take on fan blocks, you've got to be able to fold in there and make plays in the run game in certain games inside.
"How does he feel that way and then really just executing his coverages? I think that he's always done well with that. He's always been quick. He's always been instinctive. We anticipate seeing that as well. But just really how he is going to use that hand in his job."
Gordon did not speak with the media Wednesday. Per a team rule, players on injured reserve are not eligible to speak to the media.
While Gordon didn't speak, starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, made it seem like the starting secondary would be whole Sunday against the Vikings.
"Shoot. That’ll bring the energy, bring the juice,"Johnson said about the potential return of Gordon, Eddie Jackson, and himself. "I think the DBs last week started that off. I think they played a very solid game holding that down for us. So we definitely have to get back and up the energy, up the execution. Just get back what we were missing.
"Kyler was out there early. And then BoJack was out the next game. Just getting everybody back, we have to come back and we have to start that click. We don’t have time for any more mess-ups or anything like that. We’ve got that all out the way. We have to come back and execute at a high level."
BEARS ANALYSIS
Gordon was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice. He sported a small brace on his right hand during the media-viewing portion of practice.
Three positions are vital for Eberflus' defense to function at maximum efficiency: A disruptive three-technique, a rangy WILL linebacker, and a high-IQ slot corner.
The Bears' defense survived with Josh Blackwell and then Greg Stroman Jr. filling in for Gordon. Stroman had a tremendous game during the Bears' Week 5 win against the Washington Commanders, notching an interception and a sack to help the Bears snap a 14-game losing streak.
But they believe it can thrive with a healthy Gordon at nickel.
"Kyler is a good player, dynamic player in there at nickel, does a lot of things for us," Eberflus said Monday. "That position, if done right, enables us to play various coverages, to pressure player and do a lot of different things with him. He was on his way, had a great camp. We were really excited about him starting the year and then he got hurt the first game.
"It’s going to be really good to get him back so we can be more consistent with our defensive alignment.”
The Bears will have until 3 p.m. Saturday to activate Gordon from injured reserve. If they don't activate him, Stroman likely will start at slot corner Sunday when 1-4 Vikings visit Soldier Field.