Bears add tight end Thomas Gordon

David Banks - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 3 hours ago

Despite the Chicago Bears being in the position they are in and having an incredible season, things haven't always been sunshine and roses. One of the biggest reasons for that has been the countless injuries this team continues to deal with. Every day, a new injury pops up, and despite the Bears doing a great job of getting through these injuries, you have to think it will catch up to them eventually.

After what has been a quiet week for the most part, the injury news has once again taken center stage with the Bears, as tight end Qadir Ismail was placed on the injured list and is expected to be lost for the season. His absence created a vacancy on the Bears' practice squad, which they filled with fellow tight end Thomas Gordon, who is now on the Bears' practice squad for what is most likely the remainder of the regular season.

Gordon is a familiar name around Halas Hall as the undrafted free agent spent several weeks with the Bears in training camp, only to be left off their opening 53-man roster when the season broke. While his addition back to the practice squad won't necessarily mean any opportunities for him this season, it will at the very least allow him to impress the Bears coaches with the hopes of landing an opportunity with Chicago or someone else next season.

Gordon is a familiar name around parts of Chicago, not just for his training camp days with the Bears, but also for his time in college, when he was a five-year player for Northwestern. Given his lack of experience beyond his practice-squad days, Gordon isn't at the point in his career where he can make any impact this season, but instead hopes to get more opportunities to define his craft as a player.

Gordon caught 54 passes for 529 yards and two touchdowns across his five seasons at Northwestern, with his best campaign coming during his final season in 2024. It was in that season that he hauled in 27 receptions for 252 yards and a touchdown in 12 games, becoming a valuable asset for an offense that struggled to get much of anything going for most of the season.

At 6-5 and 255 pounds, Gordon has very good size for a tight end, but will never be seen as an offensive threat in any offense. Instead, he will be treated more as an extra blocker and a block-first tight end, a lost art in today's NFL landscape. Even if being a great blocker is his best path to success in the NFL, his best chance to even earn an opportunity would be in 2026 or beyond, when he gets more of a chance to showcase what he can do as a player.

Looking at the Bears' roster and the overall future of this team and Chicago, they'll have Cole Kmet and Coleston Loveland locked up long term, so they won't need an impact tight end. What they could use is a third-string tight end, as Durham Smythe is expected to hit free agency after the season, opening a spot on the Chicago roster.

That could be the opportunity Gordon is looking for, as that could be his best opportunity to stick on an NFL roster. Even if Gordon isn't seen as an impact move, or even a move on the main roster, it may not be the only roster move Chicago makes in the coming days.

With Kevin Byard (ankle), CJ Gardner-Johnson (knee), Nahshon Wright (hamstring), and Nick McCloud (illness) all listed as questionable, don't be shocked if Chicago pulls a few more strings ahead of their massive showdown with the 49ers on Sunday.