Kyler Gordon signed on the dotted line Tuesday. The 25-year-old cornerback finalized his three-year contract extension with the Chicago Bears that reportedly will pay him up to $40 million.
After finishing the paperwork, Gordon said he shared a hug with general manager Ryan Poles. The deal was done. There was, perhaps, some exhaling. Gordon described it as “a stress off the plate.”
There was also an underlying feeling, at least in Gordon’s mind, that it’s not time to celebrate yet.
“We hug each other, dap up,” Gordon said. “But I think everyone’s still in the same mindset of, like, we have work we want to do.”
Gordon is now under contract with the Bears through the 2028 season. He will become the highest-paid nickel cornerback in the NFL at more than $13 million per year.
It’s something of a symbolic contract for Poles too. Gordon was the first player he drafted as an NFL general manager.
The Bears didn’t have a first-round pick in 2022. Gordon was high on their list, but Poles believed there was no chance the Washington cornerback would fall to No. 39 in the second round.
When the Bears went through predraft simulations that spring, Gordon was available several times when the 39th pick came along.
“We kind of laughed it off and it was like, ‘There’s no way,’” Poles said then.
But that’s exactly how it played out on draft weekend. The Bears felt like they came away with a steal.
Three years later, Gordon has emerged as one of the league’s best nickel corners. He typically lines up against the slot receiver and has to be able to cover bigger targets, plus provide run support.
As a rookie in 2022, Gordon played both outside corner and nickel. Beginning in 2023, his focus turned solely to the nickel spot.
In an era when NFL defenses use five defensive backs on most snaps, the nickel corner has become a valuable commodity. It takes a unique skill set to play the position well. Gordon certainly has that.
He’s a 6-foot, 200-pound athlete who was a competitive dancer growing up and regularly shows off his back-flip skills. Much like when he was a kid trying out dance, football and basketball, Gordon believes he benefited from playing multiple spots as a rookie.
“I feel like being thrown into the fire early and getting a wide variety of different positions (helped me),” Gordon said. “A lot of ups and downs and learning from all those. Just all the experience combining together, I feel like, has made me who I am.”
Opponents know what type of challenge Gordon presents. There’s a reason the first defensive player new coach Ben Johnson mentioned during his opening news conference in January was Gordon.
“A phenomenal nickel,” Johnson said then.
A week later, new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen echoed that sentiment, noting he had a “vision for how we can utilize” Gordon.
With Gordon entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2025 — and with all of those key decision makers raving about him — it made sense to finalize an extension sooner rather than later. The new coaching staff didn’t need to wait and see what Gordon looked like in its scheme.
“The organization showed how much they value me and what they wanted to do with me here,” Gordon said Tuesday.
And so, as Gordon mentioned, now the work continues. Regardless of what the money suggests, Gordon said he wants to prove he’s the best nickel cornerback. How Allen elects to use him will play a big part in that.
Gordon has been studying Allen’s past defenses and how he used his defensive backs. Allen has hinted at big plans for Gordon, and the new contract suggests as much. As the voluntary spring practice period continues — players reported to Halas Hall last week — Gordon is curious to see what Allen has in mind.
“I feel like in this defense, I get to be versatile,” Gordon said. “I feel like there’s no limit to my possibilities. So I’m excited to see what he cooks up.”
