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BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Possibly the greatest medical concern the Bears had in the offseason was soft tissue injuries that plagued wide receiver Alshon Jeffery in the past. The problem has surfaced again. Jeffery came out of an Aug. 3 practice what was called a "mild hamstring pull" and missed the next two practices.
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Quarterback Jay Cutler had been encouraged prior to the injury. He isn't worried that lack of practice time together will hurt timing after Jeffery missed seven games last season.
"You really need one, two days with that guy and the timing is going to be there," Cutler said.
Jeffery, the team's franchise free agent, trained away from the team's conditioning program and missed OTAs prior to reporting for minicamp.
--Cutler took a cheap shot from former Bears tight end Martellus Bennett and shrugged it off.
"I'd be open, and he'd throw into double coverage," Bennett said during an interview at New England Patriots camp.
Bennett's brother, Michael, a Seattle defensive lineman, jumped in on the bash Jay fest by saying of Cutler during an ESPN interview:" "Worst quarterback in the NFL."
"I'm really not gonna get into that," Cutler said about the criticism. "Most receivers and tight ends are always open. So hopefully Tom (Brady), I guess, can do a better job of finding him (Martellus Bennett) than I did."
At the same time, former Cutler teammate Brandon Marshall, now with the Jets, said his former QB could still be an MVP.
"We're at both ends of the spectrum here," Cutler said. "We wish both those guys good luck. I had fun playing with them here, and that's just kinda how it goes.
"Guys play for different teams, and we wish them both the best of luck."
--Last year defensive coordinator Vic Fangio kept the defense rather basic instead of expanding coverages and blitzes. The team still had Shea McClellin and Christian Jones playing inside linebacker last year. With Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman at linebacker, and defensive end Akiem Hicks helping plug the line of scrimmage, Fangio is more free to gamble.
"Possibly we can," he said. "Right now we've got to, these first few weeks of training camp are all about fundamentals and techniques, so when we lay the foundation for that and we see where we are then we'll see if we can start graduating from algebra 1.
"We'll see. You know we've got veteran guys but they're not veteran in our system yet."
--During scrimmages, converted tight end Greg Scruggs flashed skills that immediately caught the eye of Cutler and coaches.
Scruggs was a defensive lineman in Seattle in 2012 and 2014 with two sacks, and had a sack for the Bears last year.
At 6-foot-3, 284, Scruggs is an ideal size to be a blocking tight end. There is a need for this at the position with Zach Miller more of a receiving tight end.
"I think Greg Scruggs has probably taken the most steps there," Cutler said. "You see him as a blocker."
Scruggs hasn't shown poorly in the passing game, either.
"A big physical guy, the kind of guy we're kind of looking for out of the tight end group, someone who can kind of set the edge, can pass (protect) a little bit but he still can get out and catch the ball," Cutler said. "So that's kind of a guy who I kind of highlighted and liked his approach so far in camp."
--Fullback Darrel Young signed Thursday, giving the Bears a legitimate run blocking presence in the backfield for the first time since the Lovie Smith regime. "He's a guy that's played fullback in the league, somebody we're familiar with," coach John Fox said.
Young, who is 5-11, 251, came in for a tryout during OTAs at Halas Hall. Young spent seven years with the Washington Redskins and was lead blocker during some of Alfred Morris' most productive seasons.
If the Bears plan to use Morris extensively, they're being somewhat coy about it.
"As an offensive staff we haven't decided how much of that we're going to use, if we use any at all," offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said of using a fullback as a lead blocker. "We had a fullback last year as well, and Paul (Lasike) is on the roster."
--Tight end Greg Scruggs went to the hospital Thursday for a lung bruise after a hit he took in practice. He was released and sat out Friday practice.
--Wide receiver Kevin White was given Friday's non-padded practice off for rest. White missed all of his rookie 2015 season after shin surgery.
--Guard Kyle Long returned Wednesday after suffering a July 28 calf strain. He participated on a limited basis, then went through his first full practice in pads on Thursday. Long reported no problems.
"I've never pulled anything, strained anything," he said. "So I didn't really know what the heck was going on. I knew something didn't feel right initially, but we're all good."
