Bear Essentials

Pro Bowl return specialist Devin Hester attended special-teams meetings this morning but, according to a Bears team source, is not expected to participate in the 3 p.m. practice in pads, as talks about his contract extension continue. Still, Hester's mere presence has improved the mood around the ONU campus. "I’m not nearly as grumpy as I was yesterday, that’s for sure," said offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who expects Hester to be an integral part of the passing attack this season.

There is, as yet, no announcement on a contract extension for Pro Bowl return specialist Devin Hester, who was on the ONU campus in time for breakfast this morning but was not available to comment other than to say he was glad to be here. It also remains to be seen whether Hester will practice today at 3 p.m. without a new deal in place. But, by being here, he avoids the $15,000 a day in fines that the Bears are permitted to assess under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. A possible scenario is that Hetser dresses for practice but doesn't participate until his extension is finalized.

Devin Hester has arrived in Bourbonnais and is expected to practice at 3 p.m. The Pro Bowl return specialist missed the first two days of training camp in a dispute over the lack of progress in a contract extension that his agent, Eugene Parker, and the Bears have been discussing for months.

After Rashied Davis got behind the first-team defense, and specifically Corey Graham, who was filling in for Charles Tillman, to catch a long TD pass from Kyle Orton Thursday afternoon, safety Mike Brown threw a verbal flag. “Make sure you guys write that he pushed off,” Brown said of Davis' tactics. There was some contact, and Davis may have been flagged in a game situation, but he wasn't admitting anything afterward. “That's up to the refs,” Davis said, looking as innocent as possible. “There's no replay on judgment calls.” I told Davis it just looked like a good veteran move to me. “I don't know even know if I pushed off,” he said. “I was just running my route. The ball was in the air, I jumped up and caught it. Touchdown. Bears win. That's it.”

The Bears signed free-agent wide receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen Thursday, and he was suited up and on the field for the noon practice, although he didn't participate. To make room on the roster, which remains at the NFL maximum of 80, fullback J.D. Runnels was cut. Runnels was a sixth-round pick in 2006 out of Oklahoma, and he palyed briefly in the only two games he was active that year. Runnels spent last season on injured reserve.

In today's noon practice, Kyle Orton gets his first chance of training camp to run the No. 1 offense, and he feels more prepared than ever because this past off-season was the first time he's had the opportunity to get frequent reps with the starters. Orton looks a lot more like an NFL quarterback this year, having lost about 20 pounds and done a lot of agility work in the off-season. The neck beard also looks much better, having been neatly trimmed. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner believes Orton has made huge strides since his rookie season of 2005, when he was thrown in as the starter for 15 games after Grossman was hurt and Chad Hutchinson (remember him?) bombed. The next three weeks will provide a strong indication of how much Orton has grown as a quarterback.

In the early going, Kyle Orton seems to be the fan favorite in the quarterback derby that began in earnest with Wednesday's first practice. Working with the second team, Orton was cheered for every completion, even when the offense was working against air. In one instance, after Orton lofted a short flip that undefended tight end Greg Olsen caught in stride in the end zone, one fan couldn't contain himself. "Whoohoo, Kyle," he yelled. "That's our quarterback." Grossman, who worked with the first team Wednesday but will switch with Orton on Thursday and handle the second team, received catcalls after most incompletions, and especially when he was picked off by Nate Vasher in seven-on-seven.

Bears first-round draft pick Chris Williams agreed to a five-year contract around noon Wednesday, just hours before the start of the first practice of training camp at 3 p.m. Williams was the 14th overall pick in the draft, and the Bears now have all 12 draft picks signed. Williams is expected to be the opening day starter at left tackle but he must prove in training camp and the preseason that he's a better option than veteran John St. Clair, who is currently No. 1 in the depth chart.

Rex Grossman won an early-morning coin flip for the right to work with the first team in this afternoon's opening training camp practice. Kyle Orton called tails, but the coin came up heads, so he won't direct the No. 1 offense until Thursday's noon practice. Coach Lovie Smith has insisted all along that the quarterback battle will be an even competition with no favoritism shown to either player, and both contestants are convinced that will be the case when the duel commences at 3 p.m. “It's been extremely fair through OTAs and I don't see any reason why that would change,'' Orton said. Grossman has gone to camp the past four years as the starter, but he says he's looking forward to the challenge of having to win the job.

Six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher rolled onto the Olivet Nazarene University campus in Bourbonnais shortly before 9 p.m. and said he was relieved to have his one-year extension finalized. He's also clearly pleased with the $18 million in new money that the deal will bring him if he plays until it expres after the 2012 season. "They didn’t have to do anything," Urlacger said of the Bears. "That was obviously a nice deal they offered me. We ended up getting it worked out." Urlacher said his neck feels fine and he's been cleared to play after arthroscopic surgery early in the off-season. Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton alternated days working with the first-team offense throughout the off-season, and that will be the plan during training camp practices.