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Former Washington Huskies star wide receiver Rome Odunze has become a popular name both on and off the field with the Chicago Bears, and looked like he was ready to become one of the NFL's brightest young stars during the 2025 season.
However, he suffered a stress fracture in his foot midway through the year and wound up being sidelined for the final five games of the regular season, which was a speed bump in the career of the former No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft, who ranks No. 2 all-time in UW history in career receptions and receiving yards, and No. 3 in receiving touchdowns.
"Your career is going to invite those moments of adversity," Odunze told ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "That's the moment that I was in, and I embraced that. I know I'm better for it to be able to go through something like that and have the season that I did that brought me to that sort of disappointment. I feel like there's those moments (that) can tell you who you are and where you're going to go from there."
For Odunze, who is now the clear-cut WR1 for quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears after DJ Moore was traded to the Buffalo Bills in the offseason, that was another moment of adversity that he's looking to overcome.
"It was tough for sure," Odunze added. "DJ's my brother. He was a big mentor for me being here, and I'm happy he's now with a great team, a contender that has awesome players as well. I'm excited to kind of fill that role that he was playing here and kind of absorb some of that void collectively."
However, after hauling in 44 catches for 661 yards and 9 touchdowns on 90 targets last season, the hard-working and ever-consistent Odunze has an opportunity to ascend to NFL stardom in his new role as the Bears look to make it back to the playoffs.
"The biggest thing for me is my actions daily," Odunze said. "I feel like if I take the proper steps daily, I'm doing the right things and people will be able to follow. And then when things might find themselves out of line, being able to correct those things...whether it's vocally or through more action, whatever that takes."
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Chicago Bears looking for Rome Odunze to step into WR1 role in 2026
Continue reading...
However, he suffered a stress fracture in his foot midway through the year and wound up being sidelined for the final five games of the regular season, which was a speed bump in the career of the former No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 draft, who ranks No. 2 all-time in UW history in career receptions and receiving yards, and No. 3 in receiving touchdowns.
"Your career is going to invite those moments of adversity," Odunze told ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "That's the moment that I was in, and I embraced that. I know I'm better for it to be able to go through something like that and have the season that I did that brought me to that sort of disappointment. I feel like there's those moments (that) can tell you who you are and where you're going to go from there."
For Odunze, who is now the clear-cut WR1 for quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears after DJ Moore was traded to the Buffalo Bills in the offseason, that was another moment of adversity that he's looking to overcome.
"It was tough for sure," Odunze added. "DJ's my brother. He was a big mentor for me being here, and I'm happy he's now with a great team, a contender that has awesome players as well. I'm excited to kind of fill that role that he was playing here and kind of absorb some of that void collectively."
However, after hauling in 44 catches for 661 yards and 9 touchdowns on 90 targets last season, the hard-working and ever-consistent Odunze has an opportunity to ascend to NFL stardom in his new role as the Bears look to make it back to the playoffs.
"The biggest thing for me is my actions daily," Odunze said. "I feel like if I take the proper steps daily, I'm doing the right things and people will be able to follow. And then when things might find themselves out of line, being able to correct those things...whether it's vocally or through more action, whatever that takes."
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Chicago Bears looking for Rome Odunze to step into WR1 role in 2026
Continue reading...
