Bears coach Matt Eberflus revealed Friday that nickel back Kyler Gordon underwent surgery Thursday to repair a broken hand he suffered in last Sunday's season-opening loss to the Packers.
The 2022 second-round pick will sit out a minimum of four games and be eligible to return to action Sunday, Oct. 15 against the Vikings at Soldier Field. The four contests Gordon will miss are against the Buccaneers, Chiefs, Broncos and Commanders.
"We're anticipating if all things go well, he can be back after Washington," said coach Matt Eberflus. "We'll keep him in our prayers and all that. We visited earlier and his teammates have been talking to him, and he's in a good spot, mentally, right now with that."
Second-year pro Josh Blackwell, who entered last weekend's season opener after Gordon exited, is out for Sunday's game in Tampa with a hamstring injury that kept him from practicing Thursday and Friday. Blackwell was originally listed as doubtful, but was downgraded Saturday afternoon.
It's unclear who will play nickel back for the Bears in Tampa.
"When you have a guy like 'Spidey' (Gordon) go down, you know he's a good player," Eberflus said. "We're certainly going to miss him. But what you do is you try to do the best with your roster. In [Greg Stroman Jr. and Blackwell], we're going to see where it is, and those guys have been with us, so they know the system. They know how to play and they've played in there before, so we feel good about it."
Blackwell is the only Bears player with an injury designation for Sunday's contest. Linebacker Dylan Cole practiced without restrictions Thursday and Friday after being limited Wednesday due to a hamstring injury.
For the Buccaneers, cornerback Carlton Davis (toe), defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (calf) and linebacker SirVocea Dennis (hamstring) have been ruled out of Sunday's game, while safety Christian Izien (concussion) is questionable after practicing in full Friday.
