The Bears returned to practice Monday at Halas Hall with the starters able to turn their preparation attention to the Packers. Yet with the preseason finale coming Thursday night against the Bills at Soldier Field, some question remains as to whether first-round pick Roquan Smith might be able to see game action this week.
Smith, who missed the first four weeks of training camp due to a contract holdout, has been hindered for the past week by tightness in his left hamstring. Bears coach Matt Nagy said Smith's practice participation Monday was "pretty much the same" as last week when the rookie linebacker did some work in individual drills but was held out of team periods.
That Smith is still so significantly limited doesn't bode well for Thursday night. It would be hard to imagine the Bears would emphasize taking a cautious approach with their prized rookie but then turn him loose into NFL game action at less than full strength.
Given all the on-field time Smith has missed this summer, he could certainly benefit from preseason game action. But the Bears will be calculated with any gamble they might be considering.
"We'll continue to monitor it," Nagy said. "And if we feel like he's in a spot where we think it makes more sense to go in there and get him some reps to get in and play, then we'll do that. But that'll be a day-to-day type thing.
"I would love to get him out there. I just don't know if that's where we're going to be."
Realistically, the Bears will turn their attention to having Smith ready physically for Week 1 in Green Bay. Nagy expressed optimism that Smith's hamstring issue would continue to improve. The Bears coach also said the team is zeroing in on Smith's conditioning at this point to gauge where he's at.
"Mentally right now I feel like he's in a good spot, I really do," Nagy said. "It's more, can he last through a game? Or what are his reps if he does play in that game? That we really don't know. And then you're just at a point where do you want to take the risk of overdoing it, and then you compound something."
