It doesn’t mean anything yet and ultimately may not in any case, but the name “Kevin White” was not mentioned among Bears either not practicing (safety Antrel Rolle, wide receiver Eddie Royal) or limited in practice on Wednesday. And that is potentially a major development for an offense that stands 20th in the NFL (347 yards per game) and 21st in passing yards (236 yards per game).
White was involved in practice, able to participate in individual drills, running some routes and catching passes, all of which is keeping a fire burning. White said that this was the best he has felt since June, when the problem surfaced.
“I'm pushing to play,” White said. “If I wasn't pushing to play, I wouldn't be out there.”
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White has made it clear that he has not written off this season, and one line of thinking is that if White is healthy and the Bears are winning their way toward the playoffs, he could find his way into a role with the offense. And he regards it as a serious goal.
“Yeah, yeah, it's really important,” White said. “If it wasn't important, I would be in the training room. I would just tell [general manager Ryan] Pace or [head coach John] Fox to IR me. But I want to play.”
White is not yet on the 53-man roster as he goes through his three-week window of practicing before the Bears need to make a final decision whether to activate him or consign him to injured reserve for good.
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White has been shelved since June after suffering a stress fracture in OTAs, then undergoing surgery to install a pin in his left tibia. He was allowed to begin practicing last week and “he’s improving,” was all Fox would say on Wednesday.
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“He’s on target. We’ve got a three-week window, that you know, we just take one day at a time.”
On target to be active this season?
“No,” Fox said. “On target to practice again tomorrow.”