CHICAGO — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson has steadfastly declined to discuss Kyler Gordon this summer, and on Tuesday morning — 12 days before the first game — general manager Ryan Poles couldn’t commit with any certainty to the nickel cornerback playing this season.

Gordon is on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, and the team said when training camp began in July that he’s dealing with a calf injury. Poles praised at length the athletic training and performance staffs for helping other players work their way back from serious injuries.

And then there’s the Gordon situation, which is as confusing for the fan base as it is frustrating for Poles and the Bears, who signed the former second-round draft pick to a three-year, $40 million contract extension in April 2025, three months after Johnson was hired.

Gordon has played in only five games since — three in the regular season and both playoff games last year — and it’s worth wondering if the team might have cut him over the weekend if it weren’t for the difficult salary-cap circumstances that would have caused.

Gordon has a $12.91 million cap number for this season and a $10 million guaranteed base salary. If the Bears cut him, his cap hit would balloon to $22.5 million and force the team to clear space just to release him.

“I don’t know,” Poles said Tuesday when asked if Gordon will play this year. “I hope so. I still have hope there. He’s going to have to continue to work hard and get back to playing football again.”

It’s difficult to understand how soft-tissue injuries that originally cropped up almost 13 months ago continue to be debilitating, especially if there has been “hard work” to return all along. The situation has baffled teammates, who are in the dark on Gordon’s status.

Gordon’s lengthy absence — he wasn’t on the field during the offseason program this spring — has raised questions both inside the building and externally about his desire to play.

“I really can’t,” Poles said when pressed for specifics. “When people come back from injuries, there’s different things that happen. Sometimes they return fast, sometimes they’re slow. So it’s really a timing thing and healing thing and confidence thing.

“So I really don’t (know). I wish I did, but we’ll see.”

Left tackle Ozzy Trapilo is on the 53-man roster after suffering a torn patellar tendon in January and undergoing surgery. It’s possible he’ll be playing in regular-season games before Gordon is even on the practice field.

“I do want to give a shout-out to our return-to-play protocol folks,” Poles said. “(Senior director of sports medicine and player health) Andre Tucker, (director of high performance) Brent Salazar, (head of strength and conditioning) Pierre (Ngo), they’ve done an unbelievable job.

“I don’t think I’ve had a moment to talk since Ozzy’s comeback, but there’s been plenty of guys that have come back this year that their hard work, along with our players’ hard work, has allowed them to come back and become football players again and be able to help our team and help our depth.

“And they’ve done a fabulous job, and that group — it’s special. They care a lot. So to see success like that has been really good.”

PUP rules dictate that Gordon will be sidelined for at least the first four games. The Bears have used rookie fourth-round pick Malik Muhammad II and veteran Cam Lewis in the slot since safety Coby Bryant was lost to a left knee injury. Lewis is also a potential starter at safety.

Poles cited strategic cover while preparing for the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 13 in not wanting to say who will play where. Lewis and veteran newcomer Xavier Woods are options at safety in a situation with three players to pick from for two positions.

Whichever direction the Bears go, they won’t have the dynamic, versatile performer that Gordon has been when healthy.

After listening to Poles, it’s possible Gordon won’t be back at all. Maybe there’s a breakthrough at some point, and no one is ruling that out. But the Bears have been unable to provide evidence for optimism for a player who opened camp in what the team called a “delay.”

“I don’t have a timetable,” Poles said.

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