Nov. 19--The Bears on Tuesday signed return specialist Marc Mariani to a two-year contract. Mariani hasn't played in a regular-season game since 2011. He was the AFC's return specialist in the Pro Bowl after the 2010 season as a member of the Titans.
Mariani broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg during the 2012 preseason. The gruesome injury derailed a once-promising career. He missed all of 2013 with a shoulder injury and the Titans cut him in August during their final roster reduction to 53 payers.
His role with the Bears should become clear this week, but he fits as a punt returner. The Bears had Santonio Holmes in that role until he was waived a week ago. Chris Williams has handled kickoff return duties since Week 5, and he remains on the roster.
To make room for Mariani, the Bears waived safety Ahmad Dixon. He made four special teams tackles and recovered a fumble in five games for the Bears this season. He was signed off the Vikings' practice squad in Week 2.
Bushrod takes blame: Jay Cutler's ill-fated quarterback sweep on fourth-and-goal from the 1 against the Vikings received attention for the decision and play call, but left tackle Jermon Bushrod believes he could have made the play successful as the lead blocker.
"I could have been a lot better on that play, instead of taking the safe route and just getting my hands on the guy and trying to make sure he wasn't part of the tackle," Bushrod said. "It's a (defensive back). I should have tried to either 1) go cut him because he was in space and block him in a better fashion. Or if I had just run through him in a more aggressive fashion instead of just getting my hands on him, we would have had a better opportunity to score there."
Comeback kid: Second-year receiver Marquess Wilson had two catches for 11 yards in his season debut Sunday. He missed the first nine games recovering from the broken right collarbone he suffered Aug. 4.
Cutler targeted him four times. His 6-yard catch converted a third-and-4 in the third quarter.
"We liked what we saw in his work ethic, and to do it with just about 10 days back into (practice)," coach Marc Trestman said. "It was a good light for us to see him. Jay has a lot of confidence in him in terms of his ability, and we'll just keep working with him, keep trying to get him involved in what we're doing."
rcampbell@tribpub.com
Twitter @Rich_Campbell
