Hester hopes for weekend return to field

Devin Hester hopes to be back on the practice field by the end of the weekend, but it probably won't happen without a contract extension.

Hester ended his two-day holdout by arriving early Friday morning and attending team meetings, but he did not participate in the afternoon practice. Bears coach Lovie Smith blamed it on a tight hamstring, but as soon as the Bears' purse strings loosen up, Hester will be 100 percent.

Asked if he would return to practice without a contract extension, Hester said, “I have no comment on that.”

Ar first, Hester joked that he showed up at Olivet Nazarene University for a free meal.

“The reason why I came back is (wide receivers) coach (Darryl) Drake offered to buy me dinner,” said Hester, who was actually encouraged by what he heard in phone conversations with general manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith.

“Progress was starting to move, and it was looking good, so I came back,” the Pro Bowl return specialist said. “I talked to Jerry and coach Lovie, and everything seemed like it was starting to work out in the right order, and we were starting to hear what we liked, so I'm showing up.”

Hester, whose base salary is $445,000 this season, said he's hopeful that his presence at camp, if not at practice, will be the catalyst to an agreement.

“Like Jerry said, they really don't (negotiate with) players who aren't here, so we're in the process in getting it done, and I'm hoping we get it done sometime this weekend,” Hester said. “Hopefully you'll see me out here.”

The Bears are hoping that, in addition to his unparalleled return abilities, Hester establishes himself this season as a starting-caliber wide receiver, and he made great progress toward that end in the off-season but needs to maintain the learning curve.

“I don't want to fall too far behind,” he said. “I want to be with my teammates. Every day I'm at home watching and reading the papers it hurts me to not here with them. So I'm here and hopefully I get back on the field as soon as possible. I need to be here.”