In his second week of practice after recovering from a broken collarbone sustained in training camp, receiver Marquess Wilson is getting closer to making his 2014 debut.
"I practiced with him the last couple days and I think he looks great," quarterback Jay Cutler said Thursday at Halas Hall. "He's still a little bit shaky just getting back into it, but I thought he had a better day today than he had yesterday."
Wilson was selected by the Bears in the seventh round of the 2013 draft out of Washington State. He appeared in 10 games with one start as a rookie, catching two passes for 13 yards.
After working out in Florida with fellow receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery during the offseason, Wilson was performing well in training camp before he got hurt and was expected to serve as the Bears' third receiver behind Marshall and Jeffery.
"You forget how good he is as such a young player," Cutler said. "We had him really going at training camp before he got hurt, so we were really excited about him. Guy gets hurt, goes on IR and you kind of forget about him a little bit because you have to move on. So getting him back is a little bit of a boost for us morale-wise. And in the huddle he has fun, so it's fun to have him back."
Wilson was placed on injured reserve with the designation to return and can be moved to the Bears' 53-man roster at any time prior to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
"He's a bigger guy, but I think his route-running is a little bit different than Alshon or Brandon," Cutler said. "He's a little bit smoother, a little bit fluid in and out of cuts. He's got great body control, but he can still go up and get the ball, so he's a little bit of a different type of guy, which we kind of need."
