Phil Thompson wonders if Bears are soft-launching a Kyler Gordon breakup
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What is the initial reaction to the Bears' 53‑man roster announcement?
LESCO!
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This drive starts from the Bears on three-yard line. Bij from his own end zone has a man getting loose. It's caught by Xavier Thomas, the rookie speedster out of LSU. He's gonna go to the house. 97 yards! In the blink of a Bengals Tiger eye! Oh, it looked like a 4-2-8-40 time right there.
No, no, no. He looked like a bear. Not a bangle tiger. Leave college behind. Bears.
Bears don't run that fast.
Uh Bears. No, I don't like the whole like carry the L no no Go Jaggers. Leave it behind. You are a Chicago Bear. This is absolutely Rahimi and Grody. She's Layla Rahimi. I am Mark Grody. This is 104-3 the score. We are absolutely talking Bears with a man who witnessed that Xavion Thomas 97 yard catch and run on the Bears' first play. of the game from scrimmage, a double move on that particular play. Adam Amin, by the way, with the play by play on Fox 32. And we are happy to be joined by it says here on the sheet, Philip Thompson, a Chicago Tribune reporter on the Bears beat. Phillip, I only know you as Phil. Would you prefer Phillip throughout this interview? I am happy to do that for you.
Uh I prefer Phil. I mean that's my byline. Uh but thank you for asking though. Uh I won't be offended by Philip either.
Okay. Okay. I just wanted I wanted to make sure. I'm glad that you are on the midday show because I've heard you on Saturdays on the score way too much. I didn't want you to get typecast uh d for Steve Rosenblub Saturday Suckage. So so so welcome to the weekdays, my friend.
Well no, I appreciate it. Uh it's the big time now, I guess. I'm I'm I'm on with my former Bulls buddy, uh, Layla. Hi, uh Layla.
I know. Thanks for doing this, Phil. And I've just really appreciated your work at Bears because, you know, as the beat comes together, there are all these different personalities. There's the way everybody asks different questions. We all end up using the same answers.
How did Phil Thompson describe the spectacular 97‑yard Xavion Thomas play?
And then there's also how you come into the mix is a very like disarming and I think um you know some humble voice in it all. Not that any of our reporters are overly braggadocious. I don't think that's it. But a lot of times you come in and you and you ask the questions where the details are, and I think you get some really good answers. So thanks for doing the work that that I think really adds to what we learn about the bears day in and day out.
Well thank you. I mean I I tried that approach to to kind of look at the human angle of things as well. So I appreciate you uh noticing that.
W what was it like to see the Xavier Thomas played? Was that something that you needed to see?
I I don't know if I would say I needed to see it, but it was uh good to see it from uh One, uh just a coverage standpoint because it it makes the Bears more interesting and adds a a new wrinkle to the offense potentially. Um, I will say that uh Kidrane Calaghan is probably still having nightmares. Uh ab about that one play and I also thought it brought out a more humorous side of uh than Johnson who tried to take credit uh in quotes uh for coaching that four two eight speed out of uh Xavion there.
Well, and I I think too what we saw is and there was some discussion about you know, Tyson Bajan has gotten his fair share of I think criticism when it comes to the arm strength. And not that that's necessarily uh an unnecessary criticism, but that it is just part of his game. You know, it's it's not as as strong as it could be to make him a starter. But I feel like even in that throw, he still got it there. It looked like it was about forty yards in the air, but still a Good job on a called play where he was able to air it out a bit.
No, uh a absolutely. Uh in You know, that that's a lot of that's credit to Xavion for the route that he ran to to to make it easier for uh for Bajan and Bajant uh kind of trusting uh what he saw in in coverage, you know, the safety and you know, the um the cornerback there kind of biting on uh on a crosser and uh Xavion running a go. I mean What a a day for him when you think about it in total.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the initial reaction to the Bears' 53‑man roster announcement?
0:00–2:22
2
How did Phil Thompson describe the spectacular 97‑yard Xavion Thomas play?
2:22–6:16
3
Why does the panel think Kyler Gordon might be a soft‑launch candidate for a breakup?
6:16–9:54
4
What are the salary‑cap implications of cutting a player like Kyler Gordon?
9:54–13:21
5
Which lesser‑known players made the final roster and why were they surprising?
13:21–17:00
6
How does the Bears' secondary depth affect their defensive strategy?
17:00–18:26
7
What impact did the trade for Clark Phillips have on the Bears' cornerback situation?
18:26–20:43
8
What other sports news (baseball) was discussed and why does it matter to listeners?
20:43–22:33
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Rahimi & Grote Show
Full Show — September 14, 2026
Bears' offense explodes in a 59-37 win over Panthers! (Hour 1)
Anthony Herron shares observations from Bears' win over Panthers (Hour 2)
5 On It & reviewing the Bears' stressful moments from Sunday (Hour 3)
Dan Wiederer: Bears' floor has been elevated — and we can't even see the ceiling (Hour 4)
Transition with Spiegel & Holmes