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Courtney Cronin
LAKE FOREST, Ill.– Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze Thursday said his father’s posts on social media are his prerogative, but not to talk about the former first-round pick.
Odunze is coming off a catch in his first NFL game despite scoring 47 points in a last-second win over the Bears. cincinnati bengals On Sunday. He was targeted three times in the game.
Although the ninth pick in the 2024 draft offered an honest assessment of his game against the Bengals — a pass in the end zone that hit his hands he “definitely could have made” but struggled after snapping the ball — his father took to social media this week to express criticism of the Bears’ offense.
After the win, James Odunze reposted a message on social media asking if the Bears would “trade Rome Odunze to a team that will actually throw to him” and declared in another post that the receiver should “see at least 10 targets per game.”
“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Rome Odunze said. “Obviously, he has his own opinions, and I have mine. And he feels like he needs to express those things on social media. That’s his prerogative. But he speaks for himself. I speak for me.”
Odunze leads the Bears in targets (59), receiving yards (473), receiving touchdowns (5) and is tied with fellow receivers Olamide Zaccheus With 31 receptions. Odunze is averaging more than seven goals per game and has dismissed any notion that he is frustrated with his role in Chicago.
“Oh, man. I’m happy,” Rome Odunze said. “I’m trying to do my job in this organization as a leader, as a person, as a person and then as a football player. So, trying to excel at a Hall of Fame level in those aspects. That’s what I’m focused on.”
The receiver, who returned to practice Thursday after being sidelined with heel and ankle injuries, said he wasn’t worried about answering inquiries about his father’s social media posts and said his father had the best intentions.
“I’m very good at answering questions,” Odunze said. “So, I don’t mind it. Like I say, he has his own opinion, and at the end of the day, he’s a Rome fan. He’s in full support of Rome Odunze. So, it’s for him first and foremost. But I love my pops.”
Although his production in the pass game was missing in Cincinnati, the Bears’ social media team tweeted a 2-minute, 16-second compilation of Odunze’s contributions as a blocker in the win. Odunze said it is a role he has emphasized since entering the NFL and that players “have to excel at it to be a great receiver in this league.”
He said, “It was nice. I commend them for doing that.” “Apparently, it’s an unspoken rule… er… underappreciated aspect of wide receiver play that I feel like I excelled in that game. I’m just trying to pay it forward.”
The Bears, who are in the mix at 5-3 in the NFC North race, play New York Giants Sunday at Soldier Field.
