LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Kyler Gordon wasn't necessarily looking for the Chicago Bears to make him the highest paid slot cornerback in the NFL. That was just a neat bonus.
His three-year, $40 million contract extension through the 2028 season takes some “stress off the plate.” It also helps him focus a little more on adapting to a new coaching staff and playbook.
“I think Chicago and the organization showed how much they did value me, and what they wanted to do with me here and wanted to keep me here," Gordon said after finalizing the deal on Tuesday. "I feel like you guys heard the majority of the time that it’s a priority and they showed me that since the beginning. We talked about it. I think it’s just a good feeling to have that coming from the staff and organization.”
The 25-year-old Gordon is guaranteed $31.25 million under the extension. He was the first player drafted by general manager Ryan Poles when he was taken in the second round out of Washington in 2022.
Gordon has five interceptions and 17 passes defended in three seasons. He had three interceptions as a rookie and two more in 2023. Gordon played in a career-high 15 games last year and broke up five passes.
Gordon is part of a secondary that includes cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson, along with safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker. Johnson agreed to a four-year, $76 million contract extension in March 2024.
“We’re all thinking about where we want to take this team more than what I’m doing. At least that’s where my mind is,” he said. “We all wanted to get this out of the way and do it the right way, respectfully and then really get to the main priority, which is building this team. Getting where we want to get in this NFL season.”
Gordon's extension is the latest move in a busy offseason, after the Bears finished last in the NFC North at 5-12.
Chicago hired coach Ben Johnson in January. The Bears rebuilt their offensive line by trading for guards guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and signing center Drew Dalman. They also added to their defensive line, signing Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo.
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FILE - Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon warms up before an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones battered the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in a nighttime attack, local authorities said Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a purported Easter ceasefire unilaterally declared by Moscow ended and just over a day before Ukrainian, British, French and U.S. officials are due to meet in London to discuss the war.
Anticipation is building over whether diplomatic efforts can stop more than three years of fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Hostility has run deep between the two sides since Russia invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014.
Trump said last week that negotiations were “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war.
This came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested last week the U.S. might soon back away from negotiations altogether if they don't progress. He spoke in Paris after talks among U.S., Ukrainian and European officials produced outlines for steps toward peace and appeared to make some long-awaited progress.
A new meeting is expected Wednesday in London, and Rubio suggested it could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration continues its involvement.
Odesa came under a “massive attack” by Russian drones overnight, injuring at least three people, the head of Odesa regional administration, Oleh Kiper, wrote on his Telegram page Tuesday.
A residential building in a densely populated urban area, civilian infrastructure and an educational facility were hit, he said.
Also, during daylight Tuesday, Russia hit the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia with two massive aerial glide bombs — a retrofitted Soviet weapon that for months it has used to lay waste to eastern Ukraine.
The attack killed a 69-year-old woman and injured 22 people, including three children, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are no plans for talks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal to halt strikes on civilian facilities. He said Moscow is prepared to consider such a step but noted that reaching an agreement could take time.
“While talking about civilian infrastructure, it’s necessary to clearly define when such facilities can be a military target and when they can’t,” he said. “If a military meeting is held there, is it a civilian facility? It is. But is it a military target? Yes, it is. There are some nuances here that need to be discussed.”
The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 54 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, marking a resumption of long-range attacks that have blasted civilian areas and sown terror throughout the war.
Russia has stepped up in the past months its use of Shahed drones, expanding its production of the weapon and refining its tactics, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said in a recently published analysis.
After Putin declared a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, Ukraine said it was ready to reciprocate but said Russian attacks were continuing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia violated the ceasefire more than 2,900 times.
The Associated Press was unable to verify whether a ceasefire was in place along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for the spring-summer military campaign, Ukrainian and Western officials say.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, Ukrainian servicemen attend an Easter service on their position in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Mykola Oliinyk/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)
