Alshon Jeffery's availability for Thursday night is still to be determined.
The Chicago Bears top receiver remained limited during Tuesday's practice, which would seem to be an indicator that he'd stay on the shelf Thursday night when the Denver Broncos come to Soldier Field. But after Jay Cutler expressed his opinion that Jeffery would greatly benefit from preseason game action this month, coach John Fox echoed the sentiment Tuesday morning.
"Every player's different," Fox said. "And you're trying to get ready for the ultimate test and that's Houston (in the season opener on Sept. 11). But those practice games, it's getting used to finishing. ... I think that little edge it takes to play live football against an opponent, everybody needs some of it as long as the body can do it."
Hamstring tightness hindered Jeffery during a camp practice Aug. 3, an ailment that caused him to miss the next three full practices. And just like that, the ongoing concern about Jeffery's durability returned to center stage.
Jeffery missed all four of the Bears' preseason games in 2015 and his injury woes continued into the regular season where he only managed to play eight complete games. So even if he didn't catch a pass Thursday, it would still be beneficial to take get some full-speed action and to regain his timing and rapport with Cutler.
"It's always good to get on the same page in the preseason," Jeffery said. "So it can carry over to the regular season."
Jeffery was adamant Tuesday that his latest hamstring issue wouldn't be a lingering issue and had no parallels to the calf strain that he suffered on the eve of the preseason opener last year.
But Jeffery will have to back up that certainty by staying on the field and producing for long stretches without injury setbacks. And he certainly hasn't been bold enough to make any long-term promises.
"It's the game of football," Jeffery said. "You're going to get hurt at some point of your career. I don't know one player who hasn't been hurt."
